Miss Tohru's Dragon Butler
by toptsun
Summary: Kobayashi Tohru was an ordinary lady... until a chance encounter with a strange creature upends her peaceful life! Now, Tohru has to figure out how to accommodate a dragon without messing everything up! This is an AU story, where the roles of the characters are reversed. Rating because Lucoa. Plus everything else.
1. Chapter 1: From Another World Redux

Miss Tohru's Dragon Butler

Chapter 1: From Another World Redux

...

A/N: Welp, here we are: the beginning of an alternate universe, where all the characters have had their roles altered or reversed! I've tried to merge the existing dynamics and character traits, and, personally, I think this will be a fun trip!

By the by, this was inspired HEAVILY by this comic from Nightea: /Nightea/status/851636142512365568

...

Kobayashi Tohru woke up with a pounding headache and a bad attitude. It wasn't her fault, really; she always tried her hardest to be a friendly, outgoing person, but after long days at the maid cafe, barely scraping by with a cheery smile and eyes that begged 'please help me!' to every customer that walked in, she just couldn't keep up the charade.

Then again, the whole 'pleading-with-her-eyes' thing probably was more offputting than endearing.

Ah well. Tohru didn't have much control over her life, when it came right down to it; when she was younger, she had great dreams for her future-seeing the world! seeking adventure! perhaps finding true love in some foreign place?-but none of those dreams ever really panned out. Instead of reigning her fantasies in and doing something practical when she had the chance, Tohru had drifted through college with barely a care in the world, passing a few low-level courses for an entirely forgotten field (education? history? Tohru couldn't even begin to remember) before dropping out. Thinking that as long as she lived frugally and saved every cent she could she would be able to follow her dreams and see the world one day, Tohru had sought out a part-time job at a local maid cafe. After all, maids were cute and she was cute, so it had to work out!

This was three years prior to now, and, if her current living situation was any indication, would be the case three years later. So here she was, living in an apartment paid for in part (a larger portion than she would like) by her parents, keeping them at bay by pretending she had a plan to get out of her tiny, sorta-crappy apartment and out into the real world.

Well, 'sorta' might be an understatement; whenever she got home from work, Tohru was always so stressed and tired that she would drop whatever she was wearing wherever she was standing onto the floor and collapse onto the couch. Then, instead of getting up to clean up her laundry or dishes or the stack of empty cupmen growing concerningly high by the trashcan, she would sit on the couch and watch whatever anime happened to be on TV at the time for a few hours. As a completely anticipated result, her room was now a pig sty. She groaned inwardly at this-she knew it was childish, a woman at the 'ripe old age' of 22 wasting her days away in front of a television like that when she lived in a dump-, but that never kept her from remaining on the couch until she passed out or got hungry. And speaking of that... which did she do last night?

Tohru lazily turned her gaze to the wall clock, squinting to try and bring it into focus through the buzzing in her head. After what seemed to be hours of trying, she heaved a defeated sigh and shrugged, deciding it was simply not worth worrying about. 4 o'clock, when her shift began on Sunday nights (today was Sunday, right...?), was probably far enough down the line to at least afford her a shower and a glass of water.

Maybe an aspirin to go with it.

Or, judging by this headache, two. At least.

A headache which was, by the way, not particularly fond of the loud banging coming from the front door at the moment, thank you very much.

Wait. Banging? Front door? But that meant...

Tohru tried to simultaneously scramble to her feet and rush to the door, achieving an awkward half-run, half-stumble that led her careening into the plank of wood with a painful thud. It wasn't the most becoming or graceful of gaits, but one could hardly blame Tohru; she couldn't remember the last time she got a visitor when it wasn't a vaguely-disinterested coworker or-gods forbid-her intensely interested coworker, Joui. It might, just might, be somebody new! Even the mailman would be a welcome surprise at this point.

When she finally recovered and opened the door, Tohru certainly got her surprise... though it might have been too much, even for her. After all, it's not every day a butler with horns shows up at your door.

Yet this is exactly what greeted Tohru this... Afternoon? Morning? She still wasn't quite sure. A young woman, dressed in a dashing black suit with a fine red button-up shirt and a yellow tie stood before Tohru. The stranger was a unique person, to be sure; droopy, almost dead hazel eyes sat behind a pair of unobtrusive glasses, with reddish-pink hair tied into a loose ponytail, a splash of electric blue on the tips. She bore an oversized set of canine teeth, and-most striking of all-a pair of thick bull's horns sprouting from the sides of her head.

A moment of awkward silence passed between the blank-faced stranger and Tohru. Another moment passed, and Tohru began to realize how rude it was to remain half-hidden behind her door and wonder whether she was supposed to say something or not. However, this line of questions became moot when, suddenly, the stranger began to speak.

"Hey, Tohru. I came like I promised. D'you mind if I come in?"

This was enough to shock Tohru from her reverie, who began to absentmindedly nod her head in assent. It was only as the stranger began to push past her and enter her home that Tohru snapped to complete attention and fully grasped what was happening.

"WAIT WAIT WAIT!" Tohru cried, desperate to get some sort of handle on the situation. The stranger, now standing in the entryway of Tohru's home, paused to turn to her, a quizzical expression on her rather androgynous face.

Now facing the stranger properly, Tohru struggled to think of something to say. After a moment of frenzied searching for a competent conversation starter, she went with the first thing that popped into her head.

"Who are you!? What are you doing here?" Tohru blurted out. Not the most elegant or tactful of openers, but Tohru found this whole new situation incredibly confusing.

The stranger cocked her head to the side slightly, her brow creased in confusion, before she finally offered a response.

"What are you talking about, Miss Tohru? You were the one who asked me to come live here!"

...

Tohru awoke at her kitchen table, a glass of water and three aspirin sitting before her. She racked her brain for memories of the last several minutes, before it all came rushing back: the knock, the butler, the declaration, and (to her chagrin) passing out.

A rustling coming from her fridge brought Tohru back to the present and, seeming to sense something, the surprising house guest stuck her head over the open door. "Ah! Good to see you're awake again!" She said with a small, soft smile. "How are you feeling?"

Tohru paused, mulling over the question; she was still pretty sore from sleeping on the couch the night before, and had a headache lingering from her... episode... but otherwise felt fine. The panic and shock that had gripped her at the stranger's statement had mostly faded, and she was able to think clearly again. Tohru matched the stranger's smile. "I'm... better, now. Thank you!"

Tohru paused to properly look at the stranger. She hadn't been expecting any visitors, certainly none with horns. Which this one had. And which Tohru realized she had been looking at for some time now. And now the stranger was staring back. Oh. OH.

"Is everything okay, Miss Tohru? You've been kind of..." the stranger tilted her head to the side, as though thinking. "...staring. For a while now, actually."

This caught Tohru off guard, and she jolted to attention as her face began to flare red with shame. Trying to wrest back control of the situation-or at least gain some kind of understanding-she began to stutter out, "Um... well... er, that is, eh... W-who are you?"

The stranger, her head still cocked to the side, began to smile. "What do you mean? It's me, Meisuke! We met on the mountain, remember?"

Tohru turned to her glass of water, dropping in a tablet of aspirin... before following it with another one. This was clearly at least a two-aspirin problem, maybe even three. For now, she would be conservative. Tohru suspected she would need the other soon. After giving it a moment to fizzle down, Tohru began to down the glass, pouring what remained of the aspirin into her mouth before chewing it and swallowing. Tohru couldn't resist a small smile at this; the taste of aspirin always made her happy, for some inexplicable reason.

Which may be why Meisuke was giving her a strange look, a mix of shock, confusing, and perhaps even amusement. "Uh... isn't that supposed to... well... taste bad to humans...?"

Tohru considered her guest's question for a moment, finally responding, "I guess I just sorta... like it?" She shrugged at the baffled Meisuke. "Everyone thinks I have weird tastes, but from where I'm sitting, it's everyone else that's weird!" Tohru stuck her tongue out at Meisuke, making it clear where she stood on the matter. However, after a moment, something about Meisuke's question seemed to click inside her head.

"Wait a second," Tohru began, "what do you mean 'to humans'?"

Meisuke cocked a brow at this question, before doing something completely unexpected.

She unfurled her wings.

Tohru nearly fell out of her chair as she jumped back in surprise at this turn of events. Suddenly, out of Meisuke's back a pair of wings covered in dazzling red feathers, like that of a falcon or perhaps an eagle, had spontaneously sprouted. Her horns began to loom larger, a shining black serpent tail tipped with a shock of red feathers popped out of her rear, and her eyes had shifted to reptilian slits.

"Because I'm a dragon, of course!" Meisuke said, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Tohru wasn't sure what to make of this whole situation; it seemed like a dream, too ridiculous to possibly be real, but she was pretty sure dreams didn't hurt quite this much... ah, wait, the aspirin was starting to kick in. Things were coming more clearly in to focus for the part-time maid, and memories from the Saturday night before began to trickle back to the surface...

...

It was eleven o'clock in the pm, and Tohru ought to have been home by now. The night before had been hell at the maid cafe: creepers being creepers in spite of the rules, angry bosses, snarky coworkers, and that damn Joui-

But now was not the time to think of such things. Now was the time to relax, the time to have fun, damn it!

Tohru had arrived home and slept from Friday night all the way into Saturday evening (something she wondered if she should be worried about before deciding against it) and when she awoke, she decided it was time for a rare night on the town. So, she put on her nicest, "cleanest" clothing (Tohru's standards for casualwear weren't very high), and wandered into town for one of her incredibly rare drinking binges. Tohru vaguely remembered deciding to go on an "adventure" of some description, but couldn't remember the details in her inebriated state. What she did know was that she was wandering up the side of a mountain in the middle of the night with some sort of alcohol boldly named "Dragonslayer" in her hand. Oh, and that there may have been a caution sign at some point...? Again, still fuzzy on the details.

Tohru likely would have continued to stumble like a drunken idiot-which she was at the moment, by the way-for most of the night if she had not been interrupted by a strange voice.

"Hey!" someone seemed to shout from the nearby treeline. "Excuse me! Miss?"

Tohru turned to the treeline, grumbling about 'some noisy person', before beginning to wander towards into the woods in search of its source.

It didn't take long for Tohru to enter a clearing, where the voice was coming from. The trip was worth it, however, for in the center of the small hideaway stood (or perhaps coiled would be a better word?) an impressive sight: a massive black serpent with a fearsome set of red wings and brownish-yellow horns loomed before her, an impassive expression inset with dead eyes upon a ginormous head filled with razor fangs, fins rippling in the cool night breeze along the side of her neck. This would all have been far more impressive to Tohru if two things weren't getting in the way: one, the incredible creature seemed to have a massive sword hanging from its side, something which would diminish the majesty of anything, and two, Tohru was stinking drunk.

So, instead of doing the reasonable thing (turning around and fleeing with a bloodcurdling scream), Tohru gave the beast a winning smile and said, "Hiya, dragon!"

The dragon tilted its head as though unsure what to think of the girl before finally shuffling its wings as if it were shrugging. Then, a greedy glint entered her eyes and her nostrils flared as the dragon began to eye Tohru's bottle. "Please, ma'am," the dragon begged, "it sucks, but I'm kind of dying here. Do you mind if I have some of your drink?"

Tohru pouted at this, displeasure radiating off her in waves. "That'sh no way to greet someone!" She proclaimed with a slur. "You have to shhaare namesh firsht! For exshample: I'm Kobayashi Tohru, but... well, everyone jusht calls me Tohru. And another thing!" Tohru held up a finger informatively, "you're jusht too big! If you want some, you're gonna have to shrink down a bit! Geez, don't y'know anything!?"

The dragon tilted her head, seeming to consider Tohru's words before finally shrugging with her wings again. "Your sake, your rules. I'm Meisuke." Meisuke then shifted uncomfortably, pointing at her side apologetically as she said, "Although I can't really do much about the size thing right now. This sword is making it kinda difficult."

Tohru shifted her pout to the offending implement. It was clearly in deep, and looked heavier than anyone she knew could lift normally, but when something keeps Tohru from something she wants, drunk logic can be an incredible thing. And right now, Tohru wanted a friend.

"Well then," Tohru said, standing up and stumbling towards the hilt of the weapon, "I'm gonna have to show thish ssstupid sssword who'she bossh!" she declared, rolling up her sleeves and grasping the hilt of the weapon.

Meisuke cringed at this, beginning to form some sort of warning before it died in her throat. According to everything Meisuke knew, Tohru should have been disintegrated the second she touched the sword; only a person of extraordinary character or magical power could touch a divine weapon and live, doubly so if they tried to draw the thing. Thus, it was to Meisuke's shock and disbelief that Tohru began to actually draw the sword out of her side.

"Ah!" Tohru cried, "Shhhhtupid thingy! I'm trying'a talk with a friend, and you're getting in the waaay!" She gave a massive heave, digging her heels an inch into the soil and leaning back against the holy weapon with all of her might. She began to feel the sword give way before it popped out of the side of her new friend with a satisfying *shhhk*!

Tohru collapsed onto the ground and let the sword roll away while Meisuke inspected the wound left by the weapon as it began to close. Just a few moments ago, her death was assured, but now she would live... and she had the lowly human, Miss Kobayashi, to thank. Meisuke grinned as she began to envelope herself in a red light and her form shrank. This would be fun.

Eventually, Kobayashi settled into a human form, naked beneath the moon to Tohru's sudden crimson blush. Tohru stammered for a moment, barely managing an "Ugh... bugh... huh!?" before a slight nosebleed began to drip down her face.

Meisuke sighed. Her savior seemed to be a childish person, shut down by the mere sight of a dragon in her beautiful, human form. Inwardly, Meisuke shrugged; she knew dragons could seem pretty impressive to humans, but this took it a bit to far. Oh well.

Meisuke kneeled down in front of Tohru, wiping the blood away with her thumb. Tohru squeaked at this sudden physical contact, her face reddening even more than seemed possible before hiding her face behind her hands. Meisuke shrugged, picking up the bottle Tohru had discarded in the process and taking a nice, long draw. Finishing her swig, she upended the bottle to see if there was anything left; finding the bottle barren, the dragoness heaved another sigh and cast the vessel aside.

"For someone who seems so childish," Meisuke began, "you sure managed to help me out there!" Meisuke enjoyed a long, luxurious stretch for a moment before noticing that Tohru was taking a few peeks at her bare form from behind her fingers. A slight smile began to play around Meisuke's lips, before she suddenly stood up and thrust her hand to Tohru.

"I've made my decision!" Meisuke declared. "To pay you back for saving my life, I'll be taking care of you from now on!"

Tohru cocked her head as everything about the situation began making perfect sense in her addled state of mind. "Well, ifff you're going to do thhhat," Tohru began, "you're going to need a placshe to shtay." Tohru's brow furrowed for a moment as she tried to perform a few mental calculations before her face broke into a dazzling smile. "Why don't you jusht ssstay at my houssse from now on?"

Meisuke nodded vigorously, a determined expression on her face. "It's settled! From now on, I'll be Miss Tohru's Dragon Helper!"

"Yay!" Tohru cheered in response. "Miss Tohru's... Dragon..." suddenly, Tohru slumped over. Meisuke managed to lunge in time to break her fall, gently lowering her savior, friend, and now master to the ground as she passed out, the alcohol finally delivering its blissful sleep upon the young woman.

Meisuke gave the sleeping Tohru a once-over, before reaching into Tohru's pockets and rifling around. Eventually, she produced a small, pink rectangle from Miss Tohru's pocket. Meisuke looked at the device quizzically before waving it beneath her nose. Eventually, she shrugged and began to wave her hand over the device. A magical circle appeared to hover over the device for a moment, and green characters began to play over Meisuke's eyes. When the glowing figures began to fade, Meisuke returned the phone to Tohru's pocket.

"So she's into THAT, huh...?"

Meisuke gave the slightest hints of a grin as a glowing light enveloped her once more...

***End of Chapter 1***

A/N: Meisuke's name is a portmanteau of the phrase "meido ga suki", which apparently means "likes maids". I don't speak Japanese, though, so I probably just pissed a bunch of people off with how wrong that is. Ah well.


	2. Chapter 2: Meisuke and Introductions

Miss Tohru's Dragon Butler

Chapter 2: Meisuke and Introductions

Kobayashi Tohru shifted uncomfortably in her seat as she considered the escapade from the night before. While this Meisuke didn't seem like the dishonest type and her own memory confirmed what the woman had said, it still seemed too outlandish to be believed. After taking a few moments to gather herself, Tohru finally spoke up.

"Sooo..." she began, "You're saying that... I told you to stay at my house?"

Meisuke nodded as she returned her attention to the fridge. "Yeah," she said, "pretty much." She continued to root through the unit with a contented smile.

After watching this for a moment, Tohru finally asked, "um... are you looking for something...?"

"Hm?" Meisuke responded, pausing her search momentarily. "Alcohol, of course."

"Please leave!" Tohru begged.

Meisuke gave a small hum of discontent. "What's wrong, Miss Tohru?"

Tohru fidgeted for a moment under Meisuke's gaze as the dragoness drew a can of beer from the fridge. Tohru sighed inwardly at this; she wasn't even sure that there WAS alcohol in the fridge, and couldn't help but wonder if maybe some magic shenaniganry was responsible. She quickly shook the pesky thoughts away, returning to the matter at hand. "I'm... I'm s-sorry, Meisuke, but..." Tohru faltered. After pausing to take a deep breath, Tohru turned once more to Meisuke and stated, "I'm sorry, but you can't stay here!"

Meisuke cocked her head to the side like a confused puppy, before finally asking, "Why not?"

"Because I can't afford to keep you here!" Tohru blurted before blushing deeply. She wasn't quite certain how much a dragon would eat, or how much space they would need, or anything else about a dragon's needs. She was sure her part-time job and humble apartment couldn't meet those needs, though.

"Tohru..." Meisuke began, but Tohru tore her gaze away from the dragoness's. She couldn't bear to see the pain or disappointment that was sure to be in Meisuke's face. Any second now, Tohru knew, Meisuke would growl or scream or just walk away in disgust. Any second now...

Instead, Tohru found Meisuke's hand on her shoulder. "Tohru..." Meisuke tried again, but the woman still refused to meet her gaze. Tohru heard Meisuke give a small sigh at this, but instead of letting go, Meisuke's grip only tightened. It wasn't painful, however; it was comforting, and gentle, and strangely... warm. She supposed it must be because Meisuke was a dragon.

"Tohru... you don't have to look at me, but I have to ask that you at least listen." Meisuke said. "I just want you to know that I would never expect you to take me in if I wanted you to take care of me. I promised that I would take care of you from now on, not the other way around. I don't care what it takes, or what I'm going to have to do, or how long I'm going to stay here. Because I promised you that I would be Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Helper." Meisuke paused, winking at Tohru, "or maybe I should say, Miss Kobayashi's Dragon _Butler_?"

Tohru gasped, her face reddening furiously at the now-winking Meisuke's comment. "H-h-how did you know about that!?" She demanded.

Meisuke chuckled. "It was on your phone, of course!"

Tohru paused at this, turning to Meisuke. "Wait," she asked, "how does a dragon know about cell phones?"

Meisuke shrugged, offering her a small smile. "I'm pretty powerful, as far as dragons go, but my REAL strength lies in information." She began to wave her hand over Tohru's phone, and a magical circle appeared as the device lit up. "Whenever I encounter a source of information, I can magically absorb all the information inside it. Which is why I know just about everything about this world thanks to the internet. Aaaand," Meisuke's smile began to stretch as she leaned embarrassingly close to Tohru, "why I know how much you like butlers."

"That explains the suit, I guess." Tohru groaned. She had to admit, the suit looked... nice... on Meisuke. Now she just had to hope that the dragoness wouldn't look in that small, unassuming basket under the couch.

Tohru paused, considering what Meisuke had said. "Well..." she began, "when you put like that... but... erm..." she looked away from Meisuke again, her face flushing red.

Once more, the dragoness's reassuring hand found its way onto Tohru's shoulder as she said, "Trust me, Tohru. Things'll be fine."

A moment passed, and then another, before Tohru finally shrugged.

"Well... if you say that, okay..."

Meisuke smiled before taking a long sip from her beer and taking a seat across the table from Tohru. This would be a good stay.

"Welp," Meisuke said as she stood up, "if I'm going to be your butler, I'd better go have a look at what I'm dealing with here."

Tohru jolted at this. She knew that Meisuke was here to be her butler, but there was a world of difference between knowing that and being ready for Meisuke to clean up after her. Especially if she started doing laundry. Especially especially if she happened across the basket under the couch while doing so.

Resolving to stop the dragoness before dying of embarrassment, Tohru jumped out of her chair, slamming her hands on the table.

Meisuke cocked an eyebrow at this display, asking, "Is everything alright, Tohru?"

Tohru spluttered for a moment, finally blurting, "I-it's fine! Nothing's wrong, I just have to... um... do something! Yeah, something! Something perfectly innocent!" She gave Meisuke an awkward smile and small wave, saying, "I'll be back in a moment. Just, ah, wait here for a sec, okay?"

Tohru awkwardly shuffled out of the room, pausing only to say, "Just pleeeeeease stay here, alright?" and awaiting a gentle nod from Meisuke before leaving the room. Meisuke leaned back in her chair, taking a long, pensive sip of her beer.

"What was that about...?" She wondered.

...

"Uwaaah!" Tohru cried as she began to survey her living room. It was an absolute disaster area, of course; three years of living like a lazy slob will do that to a home. Empty takeout and instant meals littered the room, laundry was arrayed in piles on the ground in order of "clean-ish" to "biohazard", and light novels and knickknacks were scattered in a disorganized heap throughout the room. "It's going to take hours to even begin to straighten this place out!" she muttered in dismay, sighing as she began the Herculean task of sorting through it all.

Tohru began to sort through the various piles on the floor, giving each a sniff before deciding to throw it into a "clean enough" pile on the couch or the "pigs would be embarrassed" pile near the laundry room. She picked up a few of the empty cupmen and cans scattered around the room, sorting them in to the trash can before turning to the assorted junk she had scattered throughout the room. Tohru heaved another sigh. She had no idea how she was going to get this all clean before Meisuke got up to see what was taking so long, and when she did and saw Tohru's living room in the state it was, she would be disgusted! What's more, Tohru felt like she was taking advantage of the dragoness; her home held three year's worth of trash, junk, and neglect, and here Meisuke was, offering to be her butler!

As Tohru was mulling over these unhappy thoughts, however, she felt arms clasp around her waist.

"EEK!" She shrieked at the unexpected touch; Meisuke had evidently entered the room without Tohru knowing, and was now holding the young woman gently. It was the perfect hug, just the right mix of firmness and comfort and... warmth. An incredible amount of heat seemed to be radiating from Meisuke, flowing into Tohru from their touch. She reminded herself that it made sense-again, Meisuke WAS a dragon-but to understand that a dragon, a massive, fire-breathing creature would be overwhelmingly hot and to actually feel it wrapped around her were two very different things. Yet... the heat from Meisuke's touch did not threaten to overcome Tohru. Instead, the dragoness was merely offering warmth, like a spot on a soft bed a cat had just vacated.

As her heart rate began to ramp down, Tohru realized that she had begun to panic while she was cleaning the room. The stress had only increased as she realized how hopeless the task was. There was just no way to get it all cleaned; Tohru felt impotent, as though she couldn't take care of herself. If she couldn't even do that much, then how dare she force Meisuke to pick up the slack for her?

"You don't have to push yourself so hard, you know," Meisuke whispered into Tohru's ear. "Especially not for me."

Tohru jumped out of Meisuke's grip, surprised by the sudden physical contact and the gentle words. Meisuke simply smiled at her, chuckling as Tohru's face turned to a rather bright shade of red.

"Uh... ah! AH!" Was all Tohru could blabber out, covering her eyes to try to escape Meisuke's piercing gaze.

A moment passed, and scraping began to sound throughout the room.

"Honestly, Tohru," she heard Meisuke say, "didn't I just tell you that I would take care of you from now on? It's like I said: you can rely on me."

Tohru lowered her hands, embarrassed and slightly ashamed at Meisuke's words. As she did so, she noticed the changes that had occurred in the room.

"Wha...? What happened...?" Tohru murmured. The room, which was a disaster area just a few moments ago, had become the picture of cleanliness. The trash was gone and clearly sorted into their proper containers, the novels and scattered bits had put into their proper places, and she could hear the gentle humming and thumping of the washing machine in the next room. "Wow... Incredible..." she murmured.

"Tohru..." Meisuke began.

"What is it, Meis-" Tohru jolted to a halt at the hard glare she was being given by the dragoness. "Uwah! What's wrong!?" she cried.

"You," Meisuke began, pointing accusingly at Tohru, "have no clean clothes! None! I searched the whole house, top to bottom, twice! And yet I still didn't find so much as a fresh towel! Don't you know it's unhealthy to wear dirty clothes!?" She scowled at the now fidgeting Tohru.

"I'm sorry."

Meisuke sighed, something she suspected would become a habit around Tohru. She didn't mean to scare the girl half to death, but she clearly needed some adult supervision in her life! "I didn't mean to snap at you, Tohru," Meisuke said apologetically, "but you need to take better care of yourself! What do you do when you run out of clean clothes?"

Tohru nervously tapped her fingers together, saying, "Well... the cafe I work at keeps and washes our uniforms, and I don't really go out much, so I just sorta..." she paused, awkwardly shrugging, "sniff out the cleanest ones, and spray them with air freshener...? But... like, it's not like I do anything outside of work, so it's fine, right...?"

Meisuke allowed an unamused glare to rest upon her master. "No," she declared, "It's absolutely not alright! You should have been taking far better care of yourself up to now!" The dragoness pinched the bridge of her nose, before beginning to rub her temples. "Okay, I'm doing your laundry from now on."

Tohru nodded, saying, "Yeah... okay, that's fair." Meisuke seemed to be about to say something else when the doorbell began to ring throughout the house.

"Ah, it's probably a package delivery or something." Meisuke said. "Would you like me to get it, Tohru, or-?" It suddenly occurred to Meisuke that Tohru was no longer in the room. Meisuke paused for a moment, considering where Tohru had gone, before walking over to the bedding closet in the hall.

"Oh man," she shouted, "Wherever could Tohru have gone, I wonder? Not over here, certainly!" Meisuke began to stamp loudly away, waiting until she was just outside of what she imagined was Tohru's earshot before she snuck back over to the closet. From within which she could hear a relieved sigh. The dragoness smiled, her suspicions confirmed, and flung the door open.

"Uwah!?" Tohru cried as she tumbled out of the now-open closet, bedding collapsing on top of her. "Owie," she said, sitting up to rub her head which she had almost banged on the floor before turning to Meisuke. "How did you find me?"

"My specialty is finding information, remember?" Meisuke said. "Do you really think I couldn't figure out where you had gone or hear you when you were in there?"

"Awww..." Tohru moaned as she stood up. "Okaaaay, I'll get the dooor."

"Seriously?" Meisuke scolded. "You're an adult! Act like it! Running away from the front door like that at your age."

"But people are a paaaaain!" Tohru responded.

"Geez," Meisuke said as they walked to the front door, "I'm a DRAGON, and I'm less of a shut-in than you are! It's just the deliveryman or something!"

Tohru simply hid behind Meisuke as the dragoness opened the door.

"Afternoon!" The deliveryman said as the door was opened for him. "I just need you to sign off on this package!"

Meisuke opened her mouth to speak when Tohru suddenly darted out from behind her, snatching up the package and just as quickly returning to the safety of Meisuke's back. A moment of awkward silence passed before Meisuke signed the deliveryman's clipboard with an apologetic smile and shut the door.

"Tohru..."

"A-ah, yeah, Meisuke?" Tohru responded, fidgeting with the hem of her shirt.

"What was with that display!?" Meisuke shouted at the tensed young woman... who promptly burst into tears.

"People are scary!" Tohru sobbed, and Meisuke could only sigh. She wasn't even beginning to regret making her promise, but she wished she had known her new master was such a neurotic, lazy crybaby. Then again, only a neurotic, lazy crybaby would likely have taken her in at all, so...

"...it's okay."

Tohru flinched at Meisuke's words, but then paused to actually consider them. "It's... okay?" Tohru asked.

Meisuke nodded. "Yeah, as long as you try to learn something from this all. Now, let's have some lunch!"

Tohru smiled. "Yeah!"

...

"Tohru..." Meisuke began, her fingers already firmly grasping the bridge of her nose.

"Yeah, Meisuke?"

"Why is there nothing," Meisuke began, "and I mean NOTHING, in your cupboards except for some clearly unused pots and pans and a couple boxes of instant meals?"

"Eh..." Tohru mumbled, "because that's what I like to eat...?"

"Was that a question or an answer?" Meisuke deadpanned.

"Eh..." Tohru gave an awkward smile, "...both?"

"Alright. When you AREN'T," Meisuke said, pointing accusingly at Tohru, "eating instant meals for dinner, what exactly DO you eat?"

Tohru meekly shrugged. "I... don't?"

"Alright, Tohru, we are getting you some ACTUALLY DECENT food, and I'm cooking for you from now on!" Meisuke paused, thinking for a moment. "I'll make some curry rice or something; just make sure you eat fast or you'll be late for work."

"Huh...?" Tohru turned to the clock on the wall. Now that her head had cleared and she had woken up properly, she could see it clearly. And she did not like what she saw.

"UWAH!" She cried. "I'M GOING TO BE LATE!"

***End of Chapter 2***

A/N: Thanks for reading this so far! I apologize for any problems you've seen with the fic, and will attempt to mitigate them in the coming chapters. Also, in case anyone cares, I'll be trying to update this once a week, probably on Sunday nights; this will be so I can consistently have something out on a regular, "fast" basis without missing a week...though I might occasionally post a surprise early chapter on Wednesdays! Also also, if anyone's wondering, while I will try to mix together elements from both the anime and mange (both of which I've read all the way to where we stand now, save the Elma Spinoff of which I've read only a couple chapters), I will try to be creative in my own way. Which means unique elements or ones from the Kana spinoff might pop up every once in a while. Sorry for the long note; Top Tsun, signing off!


	3. Chapter 3: Meisuke and Waiting

Miss Tohru's Dragon Butler

Chapter 3: Meisuke and Waiting

Meisuke hummed tunelessly to herself as she finished hanging up the laundry on the roof of her apartment building. She stood back and admired her handiwork before turning to the sky, smiling under the gentle sun. Her expression shifted to a frown, however, as she took note of the clouds coming in from a distance; a storm would arrive tonight, and all the laundry she had done would be for naught. Hopefully at least SOME of the clothes would be dry by the time Tohru returned from work, but she doubted it.

Meisuke reflected on the past few hours. Yes, Tohru was a strange person, and a bit immature, and CERTAINLY not sociable-how exactly DID she end up with a job at a maid cafe, again..?-, but she was a good one. Tohru was the type to try her hardest or not try at all with absolutely no middle ground, Meisuke could tell that much. After all, Tohru had tried to take her feelings into account, and had even go so far as to try and clean the house before Meisuke had noticed her absence. Plus, the silly, childish things Tohru did were... endearing. Cute, even.

Regardless, Tohru's relative cuteness wasn't the issue directly in front of her. The clothes took that spot. Shrugging in resignation, Meisuke decided to pursue the only course of action she could think of: phoning a friend. She didn't have many-Meisuke wasn't a particularly sociable individual herself, even in her own world-but she could think of at least a couple on whom she could rely.

Thus, Meisuke found herself walking back to Tohru's apartment, unfulfilled but firm in the purpose of getting the laundry done without it getting wet.

...

Thirty minutes. According to Tohru's kitchen clock, that was how long Meisuke had been standing in front of the landline. It wasn't that hard, really; the internet had already told her everything she needed to know about phones, and it wasn't exactly a difficult process once one understood it. However, she wasn't quite sure it was a good idea; she had her own reasons for not calling anyone back home, and she wasn't even sure anyone would know anything of any use. Dragons weren't exactly the poster-children of fashion or... well, clothing in general, really.

After a few more moments of indecision, Meisuke snatched up the phone and, using her magic, connected it to a friend of hers. This was for Tohru, damnit! She'd be damned if the bumbling woman would have to put up with soggy bedding!

Almost immediately, the call was answered.

"Meisuke? Is that you? Man, it's been ages! What've you been up to?"

The dragoness sighed in relief. She wasn't sure how her friend would take being called out of the blue, especially since she hadn't communicated with him recently, but he always seemed to be a lain-back, even-tempered guy.

"Heya, Makoto. Sorry I haven't been in touch lately; some crazy stuff's been going on."

Meisuke heard an interested humming from the other side of the line and deemed it an invitation to continue. She spent the next several minutes filling Makoto in on the details of the night before as well as the events of the day, finishing by asking, "So, what should I do? About the clothes, I mean."

Silence came from the other end of the line before Makoto finally responded, "Well, personally, I think you should just use magic to protect the clothes from the rain."

Meisuke sighed. This had been the response she had been expecting; it was just the perspective of a dragon, after all. It wasn't Makoto's fault if he missed the point.

"That's the thing," Meisuke responded, "I don't feel like it would be right to just use magic to solve problems... not in this world, at least. If I'm going to stay here, I think I ought to do things the old fashioned way: with hard work. I have my pride to think of, after all."

A moment passed. Then another. It almost seemed as though the line had gone dead and Makoto had left her behind. It was to her surprise, then, when Makoto finally asked, "Who are you doing this for, Meisuke?"

The dragoness was taken back by the question. It wasn't really something she considered-she had just assumed the answer was obvious. "Tohru, of course."

"Well," Makoto began, "How do you think she would want you to do it?"

Meisuke considered this question before replying. "Well, as long as it's done," she answered, "Tohru probably wouldn't ca-"

She stopped short. This was the advice she was looking for, she realized, and was exactly why she had chosen Makoto. He was right; Tohru was who the laundry was for and likely who a great many other things would be for moving forward. It didn't matter if her pride wanted to do it the 'right way'. She ought to have been doing it the 'Kobayashi Tohru' way from the start.

Meisuke smiled at this revelation. "Thanks, Makoto," she said, "that's exactly what I needed to hear."

Although she couldn't see his face, Meisuke swore she heard the smile in Makoto's voice as he said, "Anytime, Meisuke. It's what friends do, right?"

"Yep!" Meisuke affirmed. "I owe you one, really. Thanks again." She moved to hang up the phone and turn to the task Makoto had suggested when she heard a cough on the other side of the line.

"Something you wanted?" Meisuke asked as she returned the phone to her ear.

"Yes, actually," he responded. "I was just curious... do you think you'll enjoy living with this human?"

Meisuke considered his question, finally answering with determination and confidence, "Yeah, I think I will."

...

A pair of shady men stood before Tohru's front door, grinning maliciously at the entrance.

"Alright," the first said to the other, "I'm not really sure when the lady who owns this place will get back, so let's try to get this done quick."

"Yeah, yeah," the other responded as he wiggled a pair of lockpicks into the handle, "we'll be in in just a second."

Suddenly, the door unlocked. "Huh?" The second man wondered aloud. "But I didn't-"

"Nice job, guy!" The first man said, patting the second on his shoulder. "You were right when you said we'd be in a second! That's some fine handiwork right there!"

The second man started to protest, but was cut off when the door opened. There, standing in the doorway, was a redheaded woman in a formal suit, a strange complement to the run-of-the-mill beer can she carried.

"Y'know," the mysterious woman said, "I probably would've just scared you off gently if you had come at better time. However," she narrowed her eyes at the men, "you came right when I relaxing. Nearly spilled my beer thanks to you guys." She gently set the drink on the ground next to her and advanced on the men.

"Now? I'm feeling kind of irritable, and beating you guys seems like a GREAT way to work out my irritation." Meisuke's face warped into a malevolent grin.

It was at that moment the housebreakers realized they had messed up.

...

Kobayashi Tohru tried and failed to suppress a yawn as she wandered back home from the maid cafe. "Stupid Joui," she grumbled, "who does she think she is, nagging me like that!? I was only five minutes late! It's not like she's the manager or anything!" She would have kept up this grumbling for a good long while had she not stumbled across a rather odd sight.

Two men were sitting on the sidewalk outside of her apartment. Tohru would have labeled them 'shady characters' if not for three things: one, they were unconscious. Two, they were tied up, with a note reading 'arrest me!' taped to them. And three, they were covered in so many bumps, bruises, and lumps that she might have sworn they were textured globes instead of people.

After pausing for long enough to note a police car heading in the men's direction, Tohru decided she had seen enough and carried on to her apartment.

"Welcome back, Miss Tohru!" Meisuke greeted the woman with a smile on her face as she entered the home. "How was work?"

Tohru groaned, a nasty, rattling noise that sounded as though all life were leaving her body.

"That bad had, huh?"

Tohru could only muster a nod, collapsing onto the couch for a few moments before finally raising her head. "So... how were things here?"

Meisuke considered the question for a moment before finally answering, "It was pretty nice, all in all. Nothing really happened, though.

"Mmm," Tohru mumbled, "that's nice."

Tohru paused for a moment and, steeling herself for the response, finally asked, "Do you know what happened to those guys out front?"

Meisuke smiled, cracking open a beer can as she turned on the stove and began to prepare dinner.

"Not a clue."

Tohru shrugged, before her gaze wandered over to a fresh pile of clothing stacked neatly next to the laundry room.

"Oh! You did laundry today?" Tohru inquired.

"Yep."

Tohru thought about this answer for a moment, finally asking, "But didn't it rain earlier...?"

"Mmmhmm."

"So, wait," Tohru said, "how did you keep the clothes dry?" She paused, considering what had happened for a moment before her eyes lit up in excitement and a huge grin began to take shape on her face as she shot up from the couch. "Ooh! OOH! Did you use some sort of sky laser to smash all the clouds and let the sun in during the storm!?"

Meisuke sighed at this. "Of course not! Only an idiot would do something like that!" She declared. "It would attract WAY to much attention, and besides, a simple 'keep dry' spell-which is what I DID use, by the way-would work just as well."

Tohru shrugged. "That works, I guess," she replied. "A sky laser would have been cooler, though."

Perhaps, Meisuke considered, it would be best not to do things 100% the 'Kobayashi Tohru' way.

...

"Uwaaaah! Why is work so HAAAAARD!" Tohru complained as she began the trek back to her apartment. It had been a few weeks since Meisuke's arrival, and while Tohru's life at home significantly improved, her life at work...?

Well, that was another matter entirely.

"Whyyy?" She continued, dramatically throwing her hand against her forehead. "Why must life be so cruel to someone so adorableeee?" She had been voicing such complaints for a while now, and would likely have done so until she arrived at her apartment had she not been interrupted.

"Kobayashi Tohru."

Tohru turned to the source of the voice. Standing slightly off to the side was a pale, gloomy young man with stern, tired eyes, his long black hair tied into a loose ponytail. A pair of small glasses was perched on the bridge of his nose, and he wore a baggy white t-shirt and sweat pants that seemed to only accentuate his lanky, almost malnourished form. Tohru smiled at the newcomer. "Takeshi! What's up?" She said.

"According to social protocol regarding those who participate in the institution known as 'friendship'," the man began, "it is expected that said 'friends' occasionally engage in mutually enjoyable activities, one of which is to visit a local purveyor of liquor and partake in the substances available at his or her establishment."

Tohru considered his statement for a moment. "Oh!" she finally said. "You're asking if I want to go out drinking, right?"

Takeshi nodded. "This is a passable summary of my suggested course of action, yes."

Tohru smiled. "Well, in that case," she said, "I'm all for it! I just have to call someone real quick to-"

"Hey! Miss Tohru!" Tohru's face lit up as she turned to see Meisuke walking towards her.

"Meisuke!" She cried, leaping forward to hug the dragoness as she approached, whining a bit as Meisuke shook her off. "What are you doing here?" Tohru asked.

Meisuke shrugged. "I was done with all the house stuff and didn't really have anything to do, so I figured since you were getting done pretty soon I would come walk you home."

Tohru smiled, overjoyed that Meisuke would show her so much consideration, and began to say something in response when she was interrupted by a malevolent chuckling. Tohru and Meisuke turned to see the laughter was coming from Takeshi, a disturbing, unhinged smile plastered over his usual apathy.

"Finally!" He declared. "The understated style, the carefully selected color coordination, the casual yet refined posture!" Takeshi broke into outright maddened laughter (to the concern and discomfort of several passerby) before dramatically pointing at Meisuke, declaring, "Mysterious stranger... in you... in you, at last I find a worthy opponent!" He broke off into further maddened laughter.

Meisuke leaned over to Tohru and whispered, "So, uh... is he... um," Meisuke paused, searching for the right word, before awkwardly finishing, "Alright?"

Tohru sighed, rubbing her temples for a moment before replying, "Yeah... I didn't have a chance to mention this, but this is my friend Ooyama Takeshi." She sighed. "He's... really into butlers."

Meisuke chuckled at this explanation. "Huh." She smirked at Tohru. "And here I thought he meant 'rival for your love' or something."

Tohru blushed deeply. "As if!" She declared. "I don't think Takeshi's found another person he can like past toleration, much less love! And besides," Tohru paused, beginning to fidget on the spot as she gave Meisuke a meaningful glance, "There's not much to fight over; I already know who I like..."

Meisuke shrugged, before turning to the still-cackling Takeshi. "Eh... yeah, so I'm Kobayashi Meisuke, Tohru's butler." She gave a half-hearted bow. "Nice to meet you, I guess...?"

Takeshi paused mid-laugh and gave a much more enthusiastic bow. "I am Ooyama Takeshi. It is my most sincere pleasure to make your acquaintance." Takeshi paused, giving Meisuke a once-over before loudly declaring, "I've decided!" He dramatically pointed once more at Meisuke. "Kobayashi Meisuke, will you accompany Tohru and I as we go, as she puts it, 'out drinking' tonight!?"

Meisuke thought about it for a second, exchanging an uncertain glance with Tohru. Finally, Meisuke simply shrugged. "Yeah, sure," she said, "It sounds like it'll be kinda fun! But, uh, just Meisuke is fine."

Takeshi began to leer evilly. "The pact is sealed, then," he said. "Onto the bar!"

Tohru sighed. It was going to be a long night.

...

Tohru unsteadily lowered her glass, a pleasant flush beginning to color her cheeks, sighing in satisfaction. "That's exactly what I needed!" She declared.

Takeshi nodded as he similarly lowered his drink. "Indeed. This establishment serves passable refreshments. I will give my compliments to the management at the conclusion of our visit. A respectable course of action." His eyes darted towards the dragoness seated next to Tohru. "Wouldn't you agree, Meisuke?"

Meisuke shrugged, taking another long draw from her beer. "It's pretty good, yeah." She lowered her drink before continuing, "I kinda wish it were stronger, though. It just doesn't have the 'kick' I'm accustomed to, ya know?"

Takeshi grunted in displeasure. "Is that any way for a butler to speak, Meisuke?" He challenged.

Meisuke began to answer him when she suddenly found Tohru interrupting, shouting, "That's right!"

"Uh," Meisuke began uncertainly, "What's wrong, Miss Tohru...?"

Tohru puffed out her cheeks, clearly displeased in her inebriated state by Meisuke's behavior. "It's just not how a butler should talk, yeah?" She reached into her purse, producing a pair of round, swirly-lensed glasses and putting them on.

"Throughout history," she began, holding her finger up informatively, "the role of male house-servant has been occupied by a diverse set of figures and officers, each with their own title and specific responsibilities. However," she paused, taking a drink, "none do so with the same sophistication and reserved panache as the butler!"

Takeshi nodded along with Tohru, adding, "Indeed! Though the history of the butler is long and complex, the subtle intricacies evolved within the tradition are the absolute zenith of servant culture!" He paused, beginning to cry slightly as the alcohol he had began to take its toll. "Oh, if only I could be so gloriously humble and gracious as they!"

Meisuke awkwardly scratched her ear, unsure of how to handle this speech. Finally, something seemed to click, and with a small _oh!_ she asked, "So, wait... does this mean you're both butler otaku?"

Suddenly, her field of view was taken up entirely by the two humans she had decided to accompany for a drink as the sprang into her face. "YES!" they declared in unison.

Meisuke sighed. It was going to be a long night, so she might as well make sure she didn't remember all of it. "Bartender!" She called. "I'd like another beer, please!"

"Us too!" The pair of otaku chorused.

Meisuke nodded in appreciation as she received the drink from the bartender before turning to Takeshi and Tohru. "So how did you two meet, anyway?" She asked.

Tohru paused, thinking about the question-quite a challenge, considering her current state. "Let's see... it was... hm..." She paused, pouting as she closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. "I think it was..." Suddenly, her eyes shot open. "Oh! I remember now!"

"Do tell." Meisuke invited, nodding to her.

"Okay!" She paused, thinking for a moment. "It all started about a year and a half ago..."

...

Tohru sighed as she stumbled back home after a particularly difficult shift at the maid cafe. Joui was being irritating as always, the customers were rude and grabby, and she wasn't going to be paid overtime even though she wasn't supposed to work that night!

"Aaaaaaaah!" She whined. "What a waste of a Friday night!" It was her own fault, really; she could have just turned her manager down. However, whenever she did that... her manager just had a way of making you feel like you were kicking a puppy when you didn't give her what she wanted. "Why must life be so cruel to someone so adorableeeeeee?"

"Miss Maid."

Tohru nearly fell, surprised by the sudden call. She turned to its source, finding a bleak-faced young man with small spectacles on his nose and black hair pulled back into a loose ponytail. Tohru glanced to her left and right, trying to determine if the man was talking to her, finally simply pointing to herself uncertainly.

"Yes, ma'am, you." The man approached her, reaching into his pocket. Tohru assumed a defensive stance, easing into a more relaxed posture only when the man produced a wallet from his pocket. Her wallet.

"Wha...?" Tohru exclaimed. "How'd you get this!?"

The man, unfazed, explained, "You dropped it as you were leaving the maid cafe."

Tohru considered this. She recalled feeling as though she had left something at the store, but didn't recall actually dropping her wallet. Then again, if she had, she wouldn't need someone else to return it. "Oh!" She said after a slightly awkward silence, taking back her wallet. "Thank you so much, mister...?" She glanced up from her wallet, only to realize that her lucky helper had already begun to walk away. "Hey! Wait up!" she cried.

The man paused, glancing over his shoulder at Tohru with disinterest. "What do you want?" He asked.

"To thank you for returning my wallet!" Tohru cried. "What else?"

The man shrugged. "I'm afraid I couldn't care less, ma'am."

Tohru sighed. "Alright, I think we got off on the wrong foot." She extended her hand to the man. "My name is Kobyashi Tohru."

The man glared at her outstretched hand, before finally bowing low at her instead. "My name is Takeshi Ooyama." He glared up a Tohru from his bow. "And I have no interest in maids."

"Wha...?" Tohru mumbled. "But weren't you just at the maid cafe? Otherwise, how did you get my wallet...?"

Takeshi rose from his bow, nodding. "While it is correct that I dined at your maid cafe tonight, and in fact have been doing so every Friday night for the past several years," he said, "it is not out of interest in maids."

"Then why?" Tohru asked, exasperated at this odd man's behavior.

"Because," he declared, dramatically throwing his fist into the air, "I am after... the FULL OTAKU LIFESTYLE EXPERIENCE!"

"Is that supposed to look cool or something...?" Tohru muttered.

Takeshi turned once more to Tohru. "I have no interest in maids, this is true. However," he said, "Maid Cafes are an important facet of Otaku culture! Thus, I visit a maid cafe and dine there every Friday Night to ensure I am getting the proper experiences."

Tohru considered this. Now that she thought about it, she could vaguely recalled his weekly appearances at the cafe. He was always there Friday nights, like he said, and had never actually appeared to enjoy the experience. He would simply sit in silence and snarl at the wait staff when they tried to talk to him. They WOULD have disliked him as a result, but... to be honest, he was otherwise polite, quiet, paid his bill, tipped well, and had never harassed anyone in the store. In fact, he would occasionally shout at OTHER customers for harassment.

"Well," Tohru said, "what do you like, then?"

Takeshi smirked, raising his hands to the heavens. "What else? The symbol of refinement, grace, masculine elegance! The epitome of decency and culture! I am an otaku for _butlers_!"

Takeshi paused, turning to Tohru as she stood stock still, rooted to the spot. "Is something wrong, Miss Kobayashi?" he asked, a small frown displacing his grin.

Tohru slowly reached for her purse, withdrawing a pair of round glasses with swirls on the lenses. "Butlers, you say...?"

...

"Huh," Meisuke muttered as Tohru's story came to a close. "And that's how you guys became friends? By geeking out over butlers?"

"Pretty muuuuuuuch," Tohru agreed as she began to pass out under the influence of perhaps one too many beers. Soon, her light snoring could be heard throughout the bar.

Meisuke shrugged, turning to Takeshi. "Well," she said, "As interesting as that story was, I think it took Tohru out with it. It's about time I get her home." Takeshi nodded, a light blush from the drinks dusting his cheeks as well, and he stood up to help Meisuke get Tohru out of the building.

Outside, Meisuke had a glance around her, ensuring that nobody else was around before turning to Takeshi. She smiled at the man, saying, "Thanks for the help. She might not look it, but Tohru can be super heavy, y'know?"

The man simply nodded in response, familiar with the task of helping Tohru home.

Meisuke sighed, looking at the sky for a moment and smiling as she realized how dark and clear it was. "Listen, you seem like a good guy and the apartment's kind of a long way from here, so..." She brought a finger to her lips with a wink. "You can keep a secret, right?"

Takeshi merely nodded again.

"Alright then!" Meisuke said with a smirk. "Stand back!"

Takeshi looked on in wonder as, with a flash of light, Meisuke unfurled her dragon form. After marveling for a moment, he shrugged and helped situate Tohru on her back.

"You're taking this surprisingly well," Meisuke noted.

Takeshi shrugged. "You are Tohru's butler, and she has good taste. I doubt she would settle for any less than the best." He gave a small, knowing grin. "Though she does seem to have some... esoteric inclinations."

Meisuke laughed as she began to take off. "That she does."

***End of Chapter 3***

A/N: I decided there wasn't enough Koboozeyashi going on in the last chapter, so I upped it just a TEENSY bit here. Ah well, I thought it was fun. ALSO, THANK YOU for reading this story! I normally hate the *my first fanfiction/first on this site* A/Ns, but it really is and I want to make it clear how blown away I am that anyone cares about this story enough to read it! So THANK YOU!

Also, this chapter ran waaaaaaaaaaay longer than I was expecting.

Also also, this site has some weird things with formatting for documents I hadn't noticed until I was rereading everything for errors on the site itself, rather than in the program I normally read and write in. Sorry for not noticing sooner, but honestly, they were some WEIRD glitches!


	4. Chapter 4: Meisuke and Shopping

Miss Tohru's Dragon Butler

Chapter 4: Meisuke and Shopping

Meisuke stretched, yawning as she awoke. "Hmph." She grunted. "Today's gonna be a good day, I think." She slowly clambered to her feet, still groggy from her rest. She needed some breakfast. And coffee. And maybe a beer.

Meisuke wandered unsteadily towards the kitchen, rubbing sleep from her eyes along the way. Since Tohru was off today, it would be a good time to make some breakfast just for the two of them. The dragoness chuckled at the thought; it was the sort of thing Tohru herself would have suggested. _She must be rubbing off on me_, Meisuke thought to herself.

As she approached the kitchen, Meisuke began to notice an odd smell wafting through the house. It was a familiar scent, but she couldn't quite place it; the smell was of... age, and wood, and... smoke?

"Oh, no..." Meisuke muttered to herself, picking up her pace until she was practically running towards the kitchen. She had an inkling of what had happened, and if she was right...

The stove was in shambles, the area surrounding it a mess of ash and smoke. Pots and pans were scattered around the room, looking as though they had been haphazardly tossed aside. Many sported scorch marks and more than a few appeared to be broken. Empty packages were scattered throughout the room, and she suspected that their contents now held residence in the ash pile atop what used to be the stove.

And in the middle of it all stood Tohru, smiling awkwardly through a film of soot. "I tried to make breakfast...?" She offered.

Meisuke's face met her palm with a resounding _smack!_. Perhaps she had judged today too quickly.

...

"Well, I guess I could magic the stove back together pretty quickly," Meisuke mused, "and the mess shouldn't take too long to clean." She sighed as she and Tohru walked to the store. "The food, on the other hand..."

Tohru avoided Meisuke's gaze, shame turning her face into a red mess. She hadn't meant for things to end like they had, and Meisuke didn't seem to be taking it TOO hard; after all, she had only received a light scolding before Meisuke invited her along to the store. Things could certainly be much worse.

"Well, here we are," Meisuke said, cutting into her thoughts. "The shopping district."

Tohru glanced at the sign announcing the district's presence and couldn't help but sigh in relief, causing Meisuke to raise an eyebrow at her.

"Something wrong?"

Tohru shook her head, saying, "No, not at all! I was just worried you would take me to the supermarket, and, well..." She shuddered. "I just reeeally don't like that place! It's all closed up but _big_, and you're inside with people you don't know and it's just... _weird_."

Meisuke simply shrugged in response before leading them into the district. Stopping as they entered, Meisuke paused to think before finally saying, "Let's start with some fish." Tohru nodded enthusiastically in response; Meisuke knew how much the young woman loved seafood.

The dragoness led them to a nearby fish stall, calling out to the owner as she approached. "Hey, Mr. Toda! How's the day been?"

The fishmonger looked up from his products and met her with a smile. "Meisuke! Hey there! Been a while since we've seen you!" Then, noticing Tohru-who had hidden herself behind Meisuke at the first opportunity-, he leaned slightly to see the young woman better, asking, "And who's this pretty lady you're with?"

Meisuke matched Mr. Toda's smile with her own, answering, "She's my master, Kobayashi Tohru!" She gave a knowing wink to Tohru, saying, "Sorry, Mr. Toda, but you can't have her! I want her all to myself!"

Toda laughed at this. "Well, what would you like?" He asked. His smile broadened as he added, "I'll give you a little extra; gotta make sure the lady eats, after all!"

Meisuke laughed with the man as she gave him their order. Tohru couldn't help but peek in the bag as they began to walk away, seeing that he had indeed given them extra. "Huh..." She muttered.

Meisuke noticed Tohru's confusion, turning to the young woman as she asked, "What's wrong?"

Tohru paused for a moment, considering what had just happened before finally saying, "Well... it's just that... I just don't understand why that fish guy was so nice." She cocked her head a bit, trying to comprehend it all. "He just seemed so... well... nice? I know I'm just saying the same thing, but I can't think of another way to put it!"

Meisuke shrugged. "Now, I'm not exactly a native to this world, but if your history and culture indicates anything, it's that it values and appreciates beauty." She smiled at Tohru. "And you're a pretty beautiful person, Miss Kobayashi! Mr. Toda couldn't help but show you a little bit of favor." Tohru reddened at the compliment, but said nothing as they continued their trip.

"Well," Meisuke added after a brief pause, "it might just be my opinion, but I think that it has a little bit to do with humans here just being good people."

Tohru found herself surprised again and again at the generosity and kindness of the people throughout the district as they continued their shopping trip. People would be boundlessly nice to Meisuke and even to Tohru, and Meisuke would always respond in kind before giving Tohru a nudge, prompting her to thank or greet whichever person that had just spoken.

Tohru wasn't a social person, this much she knew about herself. She had suspected the same would be true for Meisuke, but... It wasn't. Meisuke wandered through the crowd, a smile on her face as she interacted with the people of the shopping district. She never seemed to trip up or put her foot in her mouth, and Tohru began to wonder... could she be like that, too? Nice? Polite? Sociable? Was Meisuke really like this?

It suddenly struck her that, although she had known Meisuke for weeks now, she knew barely anything about her. If she really wanted to know-which she did-it would probably be best to start at the beginning, when she first met the dragoness. That... didn't seem like the best approach. After all, their first meeting was rather awkwardly surrounded by the whole "broadsword piercing Meisuke's side" thing, which was probably a sore spot for her. The unintentional pun gave Tohru a slight cringe, and instead she began to consider that maybe she should do something nice for Meisuke rather than prying.

As they were walking, Tohru noticed a small dessert store on the side of the lane and began to smile. This was the perfect chance!

"Hey, Meisuke!" She called, waving excitedly at the dragoness. Meisuke paused, turning to Tohru as she asked, "What's up?"

Tohru broadened her smile to the outer limits as she gave the winning 'maid face' she had practiced at the cafe, asking, "Would you like something from the sweet shop?"

Meisuke paused, seeming to consider the offer before returning the smile as she said, "Sure, if you want to."

Tohru pouted. She was doing this for Meisuke! Meisuke! Why couldn't she just take a hint?

The dragoness seemed to notice the frustration scrawled across Tohru's face and, cocking her head as though thinking about something, she finally answered, "...Yeah, sure, we should get some éclairs or something." She gave Tohru a small nod and the young woman began to brighten, practically springing to her feet as she declared, "Okay! To the sweet shop we go!"

Meisuke trailed behind Tohru as she led the way towards the store. The dragoness had to admit, she liked to see Tohru happy and excited like this.

...As long as it didn't compel her to burn the kitchen again. Meisuke could use less of that in her life.

"Y'know," Tohru began, "My parents always told me that éclair meant 'a flash of lighting'. Did you know that?" She shot a snarky little wink at Meisuke. "I bet you didn't!"

"I have the internet, remember?" Meisuke said as she offered a long-suffering smile in return.

Tohru fumed, saying, "Well, I thought it was cool." She paused, looking thoughtful for a moment before turning to Meisuke. "By the way," she began, "how did you get your magic? Did you just naturally have it, or did someone teach it to you? Because I'd never heard of dragons being able to DO magic! And why the whole 'book scanning' thing? I know you can do other kinds of spells, but why are you so good at THAT specific sort of magic?" She tilted her head at Meisuke, curiosity sparkling in her eyes. "I bet you could do something way cooler instead, like a SKY LASER or something!" Tohru gestured wildly with her arms, waving her fingers like a starburst as she made _woosh_ and _bam!_ sound effects.

Meisuke shrugged. "A dragon's a smart creature, so we can learn all kinds of magic. However, we all have some things we're good at and some we're bad at." She scratched her chin, considering Tohru's question. "I guess I always liked knowing things and reading and stuff, so eventually a master came along and took me as his apprentice, and... well, here I am."

Tohru began to ask a question about this 'master' of Meisuke's when she was cut off by a loud cry of "THIEF!" at the edge of the crowd. The pair turned to see a shady man in a brown hoodie running off with a purse. The purse appeared to belong to the woman that had sounded the alarm, the same woman who was now pointing frantically at the criminal and shouting for someone to help.

Tohru turned to Meisuke, her eyes alight with excitement as she said, "Meisuke! You're a dragon, so you're crazy strong, right!? You should go beat 'em up! Dragon style!" Tohru punctuated her suggestion with an awkward, kung-fu-esque pose, accompanied by grunts and warbles she must have thought made her seem dangerous. Meisuke sighed at the display.

"I won't do anything that flashy," she said, "but I am going to stop him." She turned to a nearby side alley, waving to Tohru as she went. "I'm just going to do it... my way." With a smile over her shoulder, she added, "Well, maybe I'll do it the Kobayashi Tohru way. At least a little bit." She disappeared into the alley.

...

The man was sprinting to the end of the shopping district, his flight facing no more opposition than occasional cries of "No!" and "Stop!" from the crowd. He smirked to himself, unable to believe his luck. A public place like this, and no one was even trying to actually stop him! He hadn't just made it off clean; he had made it off pristine!

It then occurred to him that the world was tilting and the ground was approaching at an alarming rate, and he had the feeling that he had been tripped by an outstretched foot. This would have concerned him had he the time to feel any such emotion; such time was denied him when a swift knee came flying into the falling man's gut, blasting the wind out of him as he was flipped onto his back in the middle of the air. He barely managed to take note of his assailant-a redheaded woman in a business suit whose dead fish eyes seemed to be entirely unconcerned with the beatdown she was delivering-before she twitched just slightly and was gone. He didn't have to wonder where she went, however, as she almost simultaneously reappeared above him and delivered a haymaker directly into his nose, smashing him into the ground. The last thing the man could feel as consciousness faded to black was the purse being taken from his arms, and the last thing he could hear was an inscrutable voice that seemed very far away saying, "Y'know, it's really not cool to take people's stuff..."

Meisuke stood over the thoroughly defeated man and sighed. "Honestly," she declared, "if you're going to take something like that, you shouldn't be so brazen about it!" She shook her head, grumbling, "I better get a beer out of this, at least..." as she started to walk over to Tohru.

Before she could get very far, however, she suddenly found herself swamped by the shoppers and storekeepers as cheers filled the air. Too many voices were jabbering for Meisuke's tastes, all thanking her and enthusiastically retelling the fight (if such a curb stomp could be called a "fight" in the conventional sense of the word). She found herself face to face with the woman who had her purse stolen, being commended on her strength and her willingness to help. Meisuke was flattered, but... she felt like she was being drowned in the crowd, swept in the current of humanity. She just didn't know how to respond to all of this attention, all of this... well, everything.

Suddenly, she felt warmth in her palm, and glanced down to see Tohru's hand wrapped around hers, gently pulling the dragoness away from the crowd. Meisuke sighed in relief. This was exactly what she needed.

After a bit of pulling and pushing against the well-wishers, the pair finally managed to escape the crowd, exiting the shopping district with cheeks reddened from all the praise.

They walked in silence for a moment before Tohru finally stopped, turning to Meisuke with a smile. "That was incredible!" She enthused. "You just... whoosh! Smack! Blam!" She mimed out the encounter in time with her sound effects, her smile broadening as she performed her reenactment. "I... just..." She began shivering in excitement. "That was fantastic!" She cried, throwing her arms around the dragoness.

Meisuke was unsure what to do. She felt like she should've seen the hug coming, yet it still managed to catch her by surprise. Instead of responding, however, she simply smiled for a moment, allowing herself to enjoy the contact with Tohru. _I was right_, she thought to herself. _Today was a good day_.

As the moment began to wane, however, she felt the stares of passers-by on her back and began to redden. The middle of the street was probably not the best locale for this. "Alright, Tohru," she said as she lightly pushed the young woman off of her, "we should probably get going; make sure we get everything home soon, yeah?"

Tohru nodded, subtly declining her head so Meisuke couldn't see the red climbing up her neck. The dragoness was right-this probably wasn't the best place for... whatever it was between her and Meisuke. She couldn't help but pout, however, and she couldn't resist taking Meisuke's hand once more. As they began to walk however, she let out a small gasp and began to smile once more.

"Meisuke! Meisuke! Meisukeeeeeeee!" She cried, tugging on the dragoness's hand.

"Huh?" Meisuke said, cocking a brow at Tohru. "What is it?"

Tohru began to point at a nearby storefront, trying and failing not to bounce in place. "You don't have any casual clothes, right? So let's go get you some!"

Meisuke was taken aback by the suggestion and began to assure the young woman that her natural scales were enough, but something about Tohru's insistence made her pause. After a moment of hemming and hawing, she finally nodded. "Alright," she agreed, "If that's what you want!"

Tohru nodded back, her smile beginning to widen as she said, "Yeah!"

Unbeknownst to either of them, as they walked towards the store to pick out new clothes for Meisuke, a green-eyed child trailed behind them. She began to frown as she took note of the way they held hands.

"No fair, human," she muttered. "Big sis is mine!"

...

Tohru stretched herself across the couch with a luxurious yawn, feeling out every contour, every dip and lump in its old, beaten fabric. It was one of her rare days off, and she still had so much she could do with it! She could read light novels, she could watch TV, she could surf the internet... or, she COULD finally watch _that_...

After taking a quick glance around the room to make sure no one was watching (even if Meisuke was out shopping, she still felt a bit paranoid), she pulled her inconspicuous basket out from under the couch. She couldn't suppress a small, sinister chuckle as she opened it and, after briefly rifling through its contents, produced an unmarked DVD case. Now was the time.

Tohru rolled off of the couch, awkwardly half-crawling, half-shambling over to her television and turning the old box on. She had been meaning to replace the device for years, but never really had the time or money to do it... plus, the grain added something to the experience shouldn't quite put her finger on whenever she watched something like this... 'atmosphere', perhaps...?

The young woman allowed herself a wicked grin as she opened the disc tray and inserted her unassuming treasure. She had waited for months to obtain it, but it was finally here! It was-

"Butleroma Part II: You Didn't Tell Me There Would Be Ribbons!" The TV boldly declared as the movie began, accompanied by a cheer from Tohru. Now that she had the house to herself, there was nothing to stop her from kicking back, curling up, and having a nice, relaxing-

Tohru shot up as the door bell rang throughout the house, nearly stumbling over her own two feet. She frantically opened up the player and shoved the disc back into its box before throwing it back into the basket and haphazardly hiding it under the couch.

"Coming!" She shouted, a bit too nervous for her tastes. What if someone asked what had happened? What if they had heard? What if- oh, forget it. She took a long, deep breath, collecting herself for a moment before walking to her front door. She mustn't run away, she reminded herself. Meisuke had already scolded her for hiding from the door once; she wouldn't make the dragoness do it a second time! She mustn't run away, she mustn't run away, she mustn't run away!

Pausing awkwardly at the door to collect herself, Tohru slowly, ever so slowly reached out and gripped the door handle. All she had to do was turn it... any second now... she was definitely going to do it...

She was shocked out of her reverie as the doorbell rang again and, in her panic, she screwed her eyes shut and threw the door open with a nervous, "H-Hello and welcome to our home!"

When she opened her eyes again, however, Tohru found the hallway empty. She leaned out of her room just a bit, glancing and left and right to be sure she hadn't missed anything. Thinking she hadn't, she began to fidget in confusion. As she moved to close the door, however, she heard an irritated huff. Tohru glanced down to see a small visitor just below her line of sight, the one who must have rung the bell.

An unusual sight greeted her-though Tohru paused to reflect on what qualified as "unusual" in her world. A young girl, perhaps 8 or 9, stood on her doorstep with a sour expression, her brows furrowed and her face screwed up in irritation. She had long, wavy hair, brown at the roots but turning into an emerald green around her shoulders and ending solidly green at her waist. Her eyes were a similar shade, with a longsleeve turtleneck matching her eyes and hair pulled up nearly to her chin. She wore a light green shawl wrapped around her shoulders, wavy lines and swirls of emerald green stitched in to the fabric. Her hair was held back in a ponytail by a daisy-themed scrunchie, and she wore a small maroon skirt and thigh-high socks with small, green buckled shoes. More surprising than her hair and her eyes and her clothes, however, were her horns; she sported a curvy, emerald green pair on her head, each sweeping towards the back with a pair of smaller horns like those of a bison set under them. Her tail-another feature Tohru felt should have been more surprising-was as thick as a young tree's trunk and the same color as her horns, though it was slightly lighter on the underside. That tail was now twitching slightly, and Tohru realized that she had been staring for a while. Blinking out of her trance, Tohru began to awkwardly wave her hands about, stuttering as said, "O-oh! Uhm, you must be a, ah, friend of Meisuke's, r-right? We-well, come on in if you, um, want..."

The strange girl said nothing, merely stomping into Tohru's apartment with that same irritated expression. Tohru sighed to herself and began to wonder why this sort of thing had to happen on her one day off.

***End of Chapter 4***

A/N: Riko's design is based HEAVILY upon:

post/170457004272/dragonswap-riko-saikawa-this-is-just-a-sketch-so

I loved this piece quite a bit, and it was the second element that encouraged me to write this story in the first place! That probably explains why I spent so much time describing her; it was probably excessive but, well, I think she's a fun character. So, eh.


	5. Chapter 5: Meisuke and Riko

Miss Tohru's Dragon Butler

Chapter 5: Meisuke and Riko

A/N: FINALLY got around to fixing the chapter names! Had been meaning to do it for a while, but... erm... well...

...Reasons.

Important reasons.

Soooo important.

Yeah.

...

Tohru fidgeted nervously as she took a seat across from the young stranger that had _sort of_ invaded her house. She was sure it was Meisuke's friend, at least; no normal parent would let their kid leave the house wearing a tail or horns. However, she had never considered the possibility that anyone would come looking for the dragoness. This was, upon reflection, an incredibly obvious turn of events, and Tohru couldn't help but kick herself internally for making such a careless mistake.

The problem was, regardless of her own mistakes, there was a child. In her house. Who appeared to be here for Meisuke. And she had NO IDEA what to do.

Tohru had begun to wonder if the girl was expecting to her to say something; after all, this silence must be awkward for her, too. So, gathering all her courage and tact, Tohru turned to the girl.

"Hello!" Tohru said with her best maid smile. "How can I help you, miss?"

The child didn't seem pleased with the display. On the contrary, she began to scowl as she shouted, "Break up with Big Sis Meisuke!"

Tohru blinked at this demand. She hadn't really thought about it, but while she WAS nurturing and motherly (to a sometimes irritating degree), Meisuke didn't quite seem like an older sister... maybe an only child that spent a lot of babysitting. Wait, then that would mean...

Tohru tilted her head, saying, "So when you say 'Big Sis', do you mean...?" before trailing off. She was, simply put, out of her depth. "I'm sorry, but... what DO you mean?"

The girl began to angrily pout as she stood up. "Don't play dumb!" She shouted. "I know what you're up to! You're taking her away, luring her with your BODY!"

Tohru flailed backwards in surprise, unconsciously covering herself. Floundering for a moment, all she could respond with was, "But... ugh... WHY!?"

The child fumed, stomping across the room until she loomed over the flabbergasted Tohru. She began to flail her arms at the woman as she crawled on top of her and cried, "Go away! You big-boobed jerk! Meisuke doesn't need a stupid human like you!"

Tohru only raised her arm to deflect the weak blows from the child, unable to collect herself enough to even remind the girl they were in HER house and she couldn't just leave.

This squabble would likely have continued for a while if they were not interrupted by a sudden voice saying, "Wow... that's kinda lewd, Miss Tohru."

The young woman glanced up from the ground to see Meisuke standing over her, a smirk beginning to pull on the edges of her mouth. Tohru then realized the position she found herself in, the way the girl straddled her, berating and ineffectually beating her, and the way she herself simply lay back and took it all. Her entire face began to nearly glow with embarrassment and shame as she shouted, "It's not like that, Meisuke! That's mean!"

Meisuke shrugged, the ghost of a smile still playing across her lips as she turned to the visitor. When she did, however, her face fell almost immediately and an awkward, sheepish grin took shape instead. "Oh," she mumbled, "Hey, Riko... how've you been?" She punctuated her statement with an uncertain thumbs-up.

Riko pouted at the dragoness as she got off of Tohru, shouting, "Where've you been, Meisuke!? I was worried sick about you! No one knew where you were, and people told me you were dead!" She fumed at the dragoness, adding, "Now I wish you were, so that I wouldn't have to see your shameless face! And YOU," the girl spun on her heel to face Tohru, "how DARE you hide precious Meisuke from us! We were worried sick!"

As Riko continued to rant about the injustice of it all, Meisuke turned to Tohru with a sigh. "This angry little girl," she began to a cry of 'Who're you calling angry!?', "is a friend of mine from my world, Saikawa Riko. I used to baby-sit her when her parents weren't around, and she's kind of like a little sister to me." Tohru nodded, already having surmised as much from the girl's appearance and the familiarity with which she interacted with Meisuke. However, Tohru's attention was drawn by something the child had said.

"Wait a second," the young woman asked, "does this mean that you didn't tell anyone from home that you were staying with me?" Tohru began to frown at Meisuke, who jolted in place at the question. "That's no good!" She scolded the dragoness. "Of course little Riko was worried! You must have made a lot of people worry!" She began to cry as she threw her arms around Riko, bemoaning how unfair Meisuke had been. The girl reeled at the hug, swatting against the human and her unwanted physical contact with loud cries of 'pervert!' and 'booby jerk!'.

Meisuke rubbed the back of her neck, sheepishly laughing as she said, "yeah... probably..." She paused for a moment, seeming to contemplate something before finally turning to Riko. "Hey, um, Riko," she began, "How'd you find me here, anyway? All anyone should have been able to figure out was that I had come to this world; I thought I had covered my tracks pretty well!"

Riko scoffed. "Do you think that I could have spent so much time with the genius Big Sis Meisuke, master information gatherer, and NOT pick up on a few of the skills she was trying to impart to me?" She gave Meisuke a smug grin as she said, "I tracked your mana to this world, and upon discovering the faint hint of your scent, I managed to track down the bloodied holy broadsword. Then, I analyzed your signature like you taught me to narrow down your possible locations!" She threw her hands on her hips as she concluded, "After that, it was only a matter of watching and waiting! Once I found your 'keep dry' spell-" Meisuke sighed, regretting her decision to listen to Makoto's advice, "-I narrowed where you were down to a few blocks! Then I saw your AWESOME FIGHT at the shopping district, and now I'm here!"

Meisuke sighed as Tohru said, "SEE!? You were found out anyway! You should've dried the clothes with a SKY LASER!"

Riko stamped over to Meisuke, gripping the hem of the older dragoness's suit-jacket as she whined, "Meisuke! We need you back at hoooome! It's not the same without youuuuu!"

Meisuke shifted to kneel in front of Riko, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder as she said, "I'm sorry, but... I can't go home, Riko. I made a promise that I will always take care of Miss Kobayashi." She gave the girl a comforting smile. "I'm not expecting you to understand, but... I hope that you'll at least accept it."

Riko began to pout again. "It's just like I thought! That stupid human has enslaved Big Sis to her will!" She shook her head rapidly, displeased with the mere idea of such a thing. "You used your booby magic to seduce her, and now Meisuke's not going to go home!" She stood up, angrily thrusting her finger at Tohru as she declared, "I've made my decision! I will not accept this! I'll fight you... FOR BIG SIS MEISUKE!"

Meisuke cried out, reaching to stop Riko as she leaped across the room upon to Tohru and beginning to pummel her with her tiny fists. However, the dragoness paused when she realized that-although Riko had managed to push Tohru over-the strikes were weak and infantile. Meisuke half-suspected that Tohru only fell over out.

"Riko..." Meisuke began, "You're barely doing anything. You may be young, but I know better than anyone that you are a LOT stronger than that."

Riko angrily stuck out her tongue at Meisuke. "That's because this world's WEIRD!" She complained. "The mana's way too impure here; only someone as smart as you could filter it enough to do anything with it! I know I couldn't, and I don't think anyone else could, either!"

An uncertain silence settled over them before Tohru tilted her head to the side as she asked, "Wait, Riko... if that's true, then how're you supposed to get home?"

Riko jolted in place, crossing her arms and turning away from Tohru as she shouted, "What!? Easy! I could go home any time I wanted! I just..." She faltered, "...um... well, y'see..." She began to fiddle with her hands, avoiding the gaze of Meisuke and Tohru.

"Rikooooo!" Tohru cried as she threw herself onto the girl. "Tellmetellmetellmetellme TELL ME!"

Meisuke shook her head at this display, before turning to Riko. "Riko... I don't know what you're up to, but I don't think Miss Tohru's going to stop until you explain just what is going on."

Riko scrunched up her face and turned away from both of them before she finally relented in the face of Tohru's display. "All right! All right!" She shouted, glancing down. "I'll tell you. I... just... please listen to it all." She began to cry. "It all started when..."

...

"So, um..." Tohru tilted her head, trying to comprehend Riko's story. "You were sent here because you broke something important looking for Meisuke?"

Riko silently nodded as Meisuke shrugged. "Riko's always been a bit of a brat, and kinda bossy." She mused. "I guess this would have to happen sooner or later; I'm kinda sorry you did this for me, though... Especially since they won't let you go home until you've had some time to reflect."

"Wait," Tohru said, "So it's like when your parents kick you out of the house for lying or something, and don't let you back in until you apologize?"

Meisuke nodded. "Yep, exactly," she said. "I couldn't do a thing to help her now."

Tohru began to frown, tearing up slightly at the thought. "So she's stuck here, with nowhere to go and no one to turn to...?" She wondered aloud. Meisuke simply nodded in response.

Tohru leaped onto Riko to her cries of 'get off, human!', bawling out, "Uwaaaah! Riko, you can stay with me now! I'm sorry you got kicked out, but pleeeeease don't go away!"

The young woman turned to Meisuke and the now sarcastically cocked eyebrow of the dragoness, wailing, "Sure, it took me a bit to take you in, but I did it! Plus, she's a kid, and that's so saaaaaaad!"

Riko pushed against Tohru, scoffing, "What!? And trust a lowly human!? No way! You're just a stupid brute who'll try to take advantage of my greatness! There's just no way!"

Tohru's loud sobs drew to a halt as she pulled Riko into a deep embrace and began to stroke her hair. Riko's protests fell silent, surprised by the intimacy of the hug before Tohru began to whisper, "I know it's hard to trust strangers... I can barely keep myself from running away and hiding whenever I try to talk to someone I don't know." Tohru pulled back, still gently gripping the girl's shoulder and stroking her cheek. "...but," she continued, "I've gotten better now. Meisuke _helped_ me get better, and I trust her." Tohru smiled at Riko. "I trust Meisuke because I know she's a good person, and since you don't know what kind of person I am, there's just no way that you could trust me." She sat back, helping the young dragoness to her feet and concluding, "So I won't expect you to trust me. I just don't want you to have to be alone. I want you stay here. With Meisuke." She pat Riko on the head. "And me."

Riko didn't know what she was doing; all she knew was that, right now, she needed this. Once more, she leapt onto Miss Kobayashi Tohru. However, this time was not to attack her or berate her. This time, she pulled the woman into a hug. Before she knew what she was saying, Riko had already cried out, "O-okay! I'll stay here!" She swallowed her tears. "With you!"

Meisuke smiled at the happy pair. In this moment, she couldn't be happier to have been saved by Tohru.

...

Riko rubbed her eyes as she began her morning, heading towards the bathroom. She had seen Tohru go there at about this time the day before, but wasn't quite sure what it was supposed to be; she hadn't been in this world very long and much of it didn't make sense to her, so she resolved to learn through exploration and experimentation. For example, after a few hours of fiddling the previous evening, she had determined how these 'doors' and their 'knobs' were supposed to work. She recognized her chance to prove this knowledge when she arrived to find the bathroom shut.

The girl beamed with a smug grin as she took hold of the handle to the bathroom door and turned it... or tried to, anyway. For some reason, the door was resisting her commands. She furrowed her brow and began to snarl. How dare this stupid door oppose her! She would show it! She would!

She began to turn the handle harder and harder, and yet still it refused to budge. Her snarling became a growl as she shouted, "Open, darn you!" With a ferocious twist, she heard a "pop!" as the door finally gave up its resistance. Before promptly falling over.

...Revealing Tohru sitting on the toilet, aghast at being walked in upon-though 'walked in upon' was perhaps an inadequate way of expressing the door being torn off its hinges by a small child.

"Oh!" Riko said. "Good morning, Miss Tohru!"

...

"Seriously, Riko!?" Meisuke scolded the girl. "I thought you said you understood how doors worked! If you thought something was wrong, you should have come to me or Miss Tohru!"

The young woman in question hid just beyond the kitchen, unwilling to enter the room when Meisuke was in full 'angry big sis/mom' mode. She did feel bad for Riko (though she could do without being interrupted on the toilet), but that empathy wasn't enough to compel her to aid the girl.

Meisuke pinched her nose, pausing for a few deep breath before saying, "Alright, Riko. Today, I'm going to teach you how this world works! Today, you're going to learn common sense!" She then turned to Tohru. "Speaking of which," she added, "Miss Tohru! Eat your breakfast quickly and get going, or you're going to be late for work!"

Tohru jolted, fidgeting slightly as she glanced at the kitchen clock. Her eyes grew larger than grapefruits as she shrieked, "UWAAAH! I'm gonna be late!" The young woman began rushing around the house, haphazardly throwing on clothing as Meisuke began to prepare some toast and a thermos of coffee. "Honestly," the dragoness said, "How exactly did you manage not to get fired before I got here...?"

Tohru, either too busy or too abashed, declined to answer.

Riko tilted her head, unsure what to make off the woman's scrambling. "Huh?" She wondered. "What's going on? What's Miss Tohru doing?"

"She's getting ready for work," Meisuke answered as she passed Tohru's impromptu breakfast to her, placing the toast into the woman's mouth. "She has to go there a few hours a couple times a week and do things for them so that she can make a living. It lets her pay for her apartment, for one, and pays for the food and everything else in it!"

Riko nodded in understanding. "Okay. I'll go with you!" She said, walking over to Tohru and throwing her little arms around the woman's leg. Meisuke frowned at the girl, saying, "Yeah, no. You're coming with me today; if you're gonna stay here, I have to at least show you the ropes. Otherwise, stuff like this morning will keep happening, and that isn't okay."

Riko pouted at the older dragoness, shouting, "but I wanna go with Tohruuuuu! I can figure out this world on my OWN!" She punctuated this statement by proudly thumbing her chest.

Meisuke and Tohru exchanged a confused glance, both having difficulty understanding how Riko became so attached so quickly to the human. Finally, Meisuke shook her head, dragging Riko off of the woman to cries of 'I want Tohru!'. "Riko," Meisuke scolded, "wasn't being selfish like this what got you banished in the first place!? Seriously, show some restraint!" Riko merely pouted before finally allowing herself to be carried away.

Meisuke nodded. "That's better. Anyway, have a nice day, Tohru!" She said, elbowing Riko. Riko turned towards Meisuke, uncertain of what to do before turning to Tohru and awkwardly repeating, "Um, yeah, have an icedai!"

Meisuke sighed. It would be a looong day.

***End of Chapter 5***

A/N: Thanks for reading this chapter! Just wanted to mention before I forgot (again), at the time of my writing this (May 21, 2019 if you want me to say it), Miss Tohru's Dragon Butler is officially up and available on Archive of Our Own (Archive Of Our Own?)!

...Which probably shows you all that I REALLY should post these when they're DONE, not according to some 'schedule'.

...But since when have I listened to advice from myself?

Also, weird note: This website turns all hyphens (two '-'s) into dashes (one '-'). This took a while for me to realize, and, as you guys are seeing this long after I've already written it, PROBABLY should have been added to earlier chapters. Ah well. Also, there are a few other weird formatting bugs this site introduces which'll be a FU(checks rating)N thing to figure out! Sorry, and please, though I have no right to ask this I would like you all to please bear with me!


	6. Chapter 6: Meisuke and Instruction

Miss Tohru's Dragon Butler

Chapter 6: Meisuke and Instruction

"Alright, Riko," Meisuke said as she lead the girl out of the house, "Let's start with the basics. We're going to into town and try to make sure you understand how traffic works. First of all, you'll see these big light things hanging up with three big circles. Now, when you see these-" Riko interrupted Meisuke, raising her hand to halt the woman's explanation.

"I'm not stupid, y'know!" Riko fumed. "I get how this all works! Just watch and I'll show you how this goes!"

Meisuke cocked a skeptical eyebrow at the overconfident girl. "Oh, do you now?" She asked. "Then show me."

Riko smirked as they arrived at the street and exclaimed, "Gladly!"

...Promptly before walking off of the sidewalk and into the street. In front of an oncoming car.

Riko's expression shifted immediately to one of shock, awe, and fear of the metal box rushing at her; images of a knight on a horse-or perhaps a horse AS a knight-charging at her filled her mind, and her long life began to flash before her eyes.

She couldn't help but bemoan that most of it was boring.

Suddenly, Riko found herself pulled out of the way at the last instant, and the car swerved just slightly to avoid hitting the girl. She hugged herself tightly, still shaking from the near-collision when she realized that Meisuke was still holding her by the neck of her shirt. Blood rushed to Riko's face as she realized the older dragoness appeared to have saved her life. Riko shook her head, flailing her arms as if to chase away the embarrassment as she cried, "Put me down! I can walk on my own!"

Meisuke shrugged, gently setting the girl back onto the sidewalk. Riko crossed her arms, hanging her head as she fumed for a moment before finally saying, "...I could figure this all out on my own, but it'd probably be faster if I just let you show me a couple things." She glanced away, unwilling to meet the older dragon's gaze. "...so you had better show me a few things." She then turned to face Meisuke, her confidence beginning to return. "But not everything!" She added, glancing away again. "I can figure out some things on my own."

Meisuke shrugged as the two began to walk along the sidewalk, a small smile beginning to play across her face as she said, "Whatever suits you."

Meisuke took in her surroundings as she began her lesson, saying, "Alright, first things first: the stuff we're walking on is the sidewalk. The black stuff between each side of the street is the road, and you can only cross it at the white striped paths. Got it so far?" She paused for Riko to nod in assent before continuing, "If there's a box hanging above the ends of the sidewalk, you can only start walking when it's green; otherwise, you might get hit by a car-" She paused, shooting a weary glance at the younger dragoness who had suddenly found an intensely interesting crack in the ground to look at instead of her before continuing, "-again. When there's no box, wait to make sure no cars are coming and then cross."

Riko tilted her head in confusion, saying, "What are cars, anyway? How do they work?"

Meisuke sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as she answered, "I'll explain it when you're older and have a working understanding of chemistry, mechanics, and thermodynamics; until then, let's just say that it's magic, alright?"

Riko nodded before asking, "Does Miss Tohru have a car?"

Meisuke grimaced at this, answering, "I don't even think she has a license. I know I wouldn't let her have one; she'd probably crash within a few minutes of getting it. Plus, I don't think she could afford the loans or upkeep."

"Awwww." Riko moaned. "I wanted to ride in a car... why's power always got to have a price-tag attached...?" Riko paused for a moment before she turned to Meisuke again, asking, "Why don't you just carry her to work...?"

Meisuke threw up her arms in an 'x', saying, "No way. That'd be way too obvious, and whenever she stumbled out of whatever alley I dropped her off at, she'd get really funny looks. Plus, between you and me," Meisuke paused, glancing around to make sure no one was listening in, "I didn't want to say it, buuut... she's kinda heavy, and carrying her's KILLER on my back."

"Always the generous one, aren't you?" Riko deadpanned, to which Meisuke could only respond with a sheepish shrug.

...

"Another boarder...?" Takeshi asked.

Meisuke sighed, nodding her head. It was her lunch break, and she had been invited to eat at a small nearby diner with the eccentric man; she found that, before long, she was dumping all of the news of the last two days. "She's an... um... Relative of Meisuke's." She answered.

Takeshi rubbed his chin, considering this new information before asking, "...and how do you know Miss Meisuke, again?"

Tohru jolted at the question, awkwardly rubbing the back of her neck with a sheepish smile. "Um..." She began, "...old family ties?"

Takeshi gave a knowing grin, but to Tohru's relief did not push the subject. However, the man's eyes flashed dangerously as he asked, "And this boarder... is she...?"

Tohru paused, unsure what he was asking until the answer clicked and she burst into laughter. "No, no!" She answered. "She's WAY too young to be a butler."

"Hmm." Takeshi said. "I suppose you have to be in your midlife to be a true butler."

"Hey!" Tohru shouted, drawing a pair of swirly-lensed glasses from her purse. "Don't knock the young monster butler! It's the modern craze!"

...

Riko hummed uncomfortably, her bravado visibly faltering as Meisuke looked on.

The older dragoness sighed at Riko's obvious confusion before beginning, "That device is called a 'see-saw', and it-"

"HAAAAH!" Riko shouted, throwing up her hands to cut Meisuke off. "Don't tell me! I can figure it out on my own!"

"Well then," Meisuke responded, "tell me what you think it is."

Riko jolted at the question, crossing her arms and turning away as she began to splutter, "well, obviously it's... it's..." She began rubbing her temples to jog her memory, before with a snap of her fingers she answered, "It's a training catapult! It's how the human children of this world learn to fight flying monsters!" Riko smirked, saying, "I'm right, aren't I? Of course I am! Because I am Saikawa Riko the Great!"

Meisuke smacked the child on the head to cries of 'hey!' as she said, "Not quite, Riko. Humility's a virtue, you know. Anyway, that's a 'see-saw', and kids play on it by having one sit on each end and moving up and down."

Riko considered this for a moment, her face lighting up as she declared, "That sounds incredible! Riko, you must ride the seesaw with me!"

"Nope." She answered without missing a beat.

...

"What's the smell?" Riko asked as sniffed the air.

Meisuke tilted her head before having a sniff herself, and she began to crack a smile at she pointed at a nearby food truck. "Aaaah. That's the crepes those guys are selling. You want one?"

Riko beamed, nodding quickly at the offer as Meisuke went to purchase a pair of the sweets.

A few minutes later, the dragonesses were sitting in a nearby park as they enjoyed the treats.

Riko smiled as she ate the crepe, watching the people stroll throughout the park or simply frolic carelessly. "...the humans of this world are so peaceful..." She noted.

Meisuke nodded in agreement, saying, "Some parts of this world, yeah. But we have to be careful; they don't have dragons or anything like us here, so we can't let them see us in our true forms."

Riko frowned. "There aren't any other dragons here? Did they leave or die out or what?"

The older dragoness shrugged, answering, "I don't really know. I'd like to think they got a nice, peaceful end, though I can't really say how likely that is."

Riko considered this answer for a moment before dismissing the thought, instead asking, "So we're stuck like this from now on?"

"You can't use cognitive inhibition magic yet, Riko?" Meisuke asked with a wry grin.

Riko's frown shifted quickly into shock and then again into a pout as she said, "Wha-? Yes, I-! That is, um... I mean, i-it's not like I had much reason to learn it, right! In our world it was just what cowardly dragons learned, and-"

Meisuke held her hand to stop the child short. "It's okay, Riko," she began, "I didn't really expect you to, and honestly? You're kinda right. It wasn't really useful there. But I'm sure you'll learn that and a bunch of other important magic as you get older." She paused, giving the child a thumbs-up and a wink as she said, "I believe in you, so it should be okay, yeah?"

Riko nodded, smiling again as she answered, "Yeah!"

The pair stood up and resumed their walk.

...

"Hey, Big Sis Meisuke..." Riko piped.

Meisuke blinked, turning to the child with a curious 'hmm?'

Riko glanced around uncomfortably, unsure of what to say before finally beginning, "I'm not sure if this world is a bad place, but it is pretty weird. I just... I don't get it. Why did you come here?"

Meisuke rubbed the back of her neck as she considered the question. It was a fair one, really; this world WAS pretty strange, and even though it _was_ peaceful, it took some getting used to. So why bother going through the trouble? "Yeah," she eventually answered, "it's pretty weird, huh? Honestly, I only came here in the first place because I randomly came across it when I was escaping. I thought I would die here, and then it wouldn't matter if it was weird or not. But..."

She paused, scratching her cheek as she turned wistfully to the setting sun before continuing, "Miss Tohru found me then, when I should've died. I figured I was done for, but... I wasn't. I was going to live, all because she saved me, because she almost killed herself without realizing it. I couldn't just leave after that, so I stayed; I had decided to help her, and whatever else could just go and die for all I cared. I barely told anyone I was here, and the few who I did were just shut-in friends of mine, so it should be okay."

Riko narrowed her eyes, clearly unimpressed as she stated, "So basically you just gave up and retired, right? Lazy Big Sis Meisuke."

Meisuke chuckled awkwardly, saying, "Yeah, I guess you're right. But..." She trailed off.

Riko cocked her brow, asking, "But what?"

Meisuke turned to younger dragoness with a smile. "But right now, being in this strange world makes me happy, because... this world is the one with Tohru."

Riko cocked her head, stopping for a moment to consider Meisuke's statement. Realizing that the child was no longer following, Meisuke paused, turning to the child as she asked, "What's wrong, Riko? Do you want something?"

The girl nodded. "I want to see Miss Tohru."

Meisuke frowned. "If we do and get seen, her boss might get mad at us."

Riko pouted in response, saying, "As if someone as simple as her boss would stop me!"

Meisuke smiled. "You're in luck today, Riko." She began. "Any other day I would have scolded you. But today... today, I feel like going to see her, too." The older dragoness extended her hand, and a magical circle appeared as light began to envelop them both...

...

"Uwaaah," Tohru bemoaned in the back of the kitchen as she washed the various dishes the day had produced. "Why do I ALWAYS get stuck doing the stupid jobs! It's boring, and I could do so much more... why must life be so cruel to someone so adorableeee?" She sighed. "It's just not fai-"

She paused, glancing out the window. She wasn't sure, but she could almost swear that she had seen something... Beautiful. Glistening.

...oh well. She couldn't help but feel better now.

...

"And then she asked me why I wasn't working and then she yelled at me and it was awefuuuuuuul!" Tohru moaned, face pressed against the couch.

Meisuke exchanged a guilty glance with Riko. "Man, your coworker yelled at you for just glancing off into space? That's rough, and totally unfair."

Riko nodded, unwilling to look at Kobayashi. Neither she nor Meisuke would ever be quite sure how responsible they were for Tohru's suffering that day.

...

Riko moaned with pleasure, stretching luxuriously under the window as she basked in the afternoon sunlight. For a moment, she seemed content to soak in the light.

However, that moment passed quickly, and her joyful expression quickly shifted to one of disinterest as she turned to Meisuke and Tohru, saying, "I'm booored. I wanna go out and play! Big Sis Meisuke, take me outside!"

Tohru blinked as she said, "But weren't you just watching cartoons?"

Riko shook her head. "I got bored of that!" She declared. "I wanna go outside now!"

"Riko's only a kid, you have to remember." Meisuke said. "I was kind of a layabout as a kid, but I was more of an exception than the rule, so... I guess it's not surprising that she would want to play around outside on a nice day like this."

Tohru considered Meisuke's point. Eventually, she said, "Yeah, I guess you're right; kids shouldn't spend their whole lives inside, after all." Smiling, she added, "I was pretty insatiable at this age, too. We should go out! C'mon, Meisuke, let's all go together!"

Rubbing the back of her neck, Meisuke awkwardly said, "Eh... it's kind of a drag, y'know? You guys should go out, yeah, but I think I'll just stay in."

The other two glared at the older dragoness accusingly, censuring remarks regarding her laziness and selfishness written in full essays across their face.

"...Fine." Meisuke said, caving to their pressure. "It's gonna still be a drag, but I guess you guys being there will make it better."

...

An exhilarating ride across the oceans later, Meisuke set Tohru down in a grassy field far from her home as Riko set down across the plain. Gazing around, Tohru couldn't hold in an excited, "Ooh! Where are we now?"

"No idea." Meisuke answered. "I just looked for somewhere where Riko could be happy, so we ended up here."

"Big Sis Meisuke!" Turning to find Riko shouting at her, the dragoness in question shouted back an inquisitive "What?"

Smiling boldly, Riko declared, "Be ready to meet your match! I've been practicing lately, so I KNOW that I'll be ready this time!"

With a quiet chuckle to herself, Meisuke replied, "Well, then, come at me!"

***End of Chapter 6***

A/N: Sorry for the shorter chapter, everyone! I've had a shitty week, so I've been kinda... off. And I ESPECIALLY apologize to anyone who reads my other story, It's Not My Fault We're Together! I didn't mean to take a week off so early, but things have been...

Bugh.

Sorry, all. I'll try to be better.


	7. Chapter 7: Meisuke and Children's Games

Miss Tohru's Dragon Butler

Chapter 7: Meisuke and Children's Games

A/N: So since the link to the Saikawa concept art isn't working, if you Google "dragonswap riko saikawa" or the tumblr page of one "dragonbanzai" with whom I am in no way affiliated (I apologize if you've noticed this, dragonbanzai, and are mad that I haven't properly credited your work) but whose artwork is very good. I suggest you check it out!

Here's another link so PLEASE GOOGLE WORK WITH ME HERE:

post/170457004272/dragonswap-riko-saikawa-this-is-just-a-sketch-so

ALSO PLEASE PRETEND LIKE NOTHING'S WRONG THIS WAS DEFINITELY THE FIRST CHAPTER I POSTED AS CHAPTER 7

...

Sitting in a burning field, Tohru stared blankly ahead of her, unable to comprehend the craters, the smoke, the outright devastation that had overtaken the scene before her.

"I thought you said you had been training, Riko!" She heard Meisuke shout somewhere in the carnage. "If this is all you've got, it definitely wasn't enough!"

"Shut up, big sis!" Riko's voice floated through the fog of war. "I'm just getting warmed up! Then you'll definitely shake before my might!"

Suddenly, explosions filled the air, and light flashed and glared around Tohru. Shrieking, she ducked and shivered as she covered her head, waiting for the storm to pass.

"Uwaaah!"

As she began to call out, the explosions faded and the smoke cleared, revealing an unscathed Meisuke and Riko. Pushing a struggling Riko along as she rubbed her neck, Meisuke sheepishly muttered, "Sorry about that, Miss Tohru. I didn't really think about it, but I guess that was pretty intense for someone from this world, huh..." Nudging Riko, she added, "Go on, apologize."

Frowning, Riko shot back, "Why would I!? This is just playing-I didn't do anything wrong!"

With a sigh, Meisuke answered, "Yeah, in our world. But in this one, people get freaked out by the rough-housing of dragons." With a shrug, she added, "Even the normal stuff is over-the-top by their standards."

"No it isn't!" Riko answered. "It's like that for humans in our world, and I've seen their television stuff here! This is barely anything compared to Madoka Magica or something like that!"

"Why would you let her watch that!?" Tohru fumed, turning accusingly to Meisuke.

"I didn't think she would be influenced like this," The dragoness answered with a shrug. "Anyway, hate to tell you this, but human TV isn't... well..." With a significant cough and a nudge to Tohru, Meisuke pointedly turned away.

"What!?" The woman griped. "Why do I have to tell her!?" No answer forthcoming, Tohru instead turned with a huff to Riko and awkwardly explained, "Uh, well... you see... that stuff isn't actually... real. It's just made up... for fun, y'know...?"

Riko's blank, defeated expression was all it took for Tohru to begin tearing up, but before she could begin properly bawling, Meisuke cut in, saying, "Well, anyway..." With a cough, she continued, "Let's just try to keep things to a human level, okay?"

Pouting, Riko answered with a nod.

...

As she leaned back against a tree to watch Meisuke and Riko play in the field, Tohru considered the energy the younger dragoness was frolicking with. After watching this for a bit, she finally called out, "Hey, Meisuke! Riko!"

Pausing in their play, the pair turned to Tohru. Smiling, Meisuke said, "What do you need, Miss Tohru?"

"Well, I've been wondering," Tohru began, "If Riko was drained, how is she all better now?"

With a boastful thrust of her chest, Riko answered, "I take my power from the sun, so a bit of sunbathing and I'm back up to full!"

"Thus the giant forehead." Meisuke said, holding Riko at arm's length as the girl furiously flailed her arms at the older dragoness.

"Anyway," Meisuke said as Riko began to calm down, "Since we're playing at this level... why don't you play along, Tohru?"

Thinking it over for a moment, Tohru answered with a nod and a smile as she rose to join them.

...

"So... should we head home yet?" Meisuke asked as the group reclined on the grass a while later.

"Mmm..." Tohru thought it over. "Yeah."

...

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!" Riko and Tohru shouted together.

Blinking, Meisuke finished opening the door and entered the apartment, arms full of groceries. "What's this about?" The dragoness asked.

With a cheery smile, Tohru answered, "It's Christmastime, of course!" She paused to hug herself tightly before continuing, "a time of year where the world and all of its people unite in a spirit of joy and love! And," with a sultry smile, she finished, "A time for lovers and the bond between them."

With an unimpressed eyebrow cocked, Meisuke turned to Riko for further information on the subject. Happy to be noticed, Riko added, "The butcher told us it was a holiday just like that! And something about how it was a celebration of the birth of someone called 'Jesus Christ', but how the Japanese don't really care about that."

With an audible _tch!_, Meisuke murmured, "That bastard's son, huh...?" Sighing, she asked, "So, what did you guys want to do?"

"HAVE A CHRISTMAS PARTY!" The two replied in unison without missing a beat.

"And who, precisely," Meisuke began as she pinched the bridge of her nose, "would you all invite?"

Both of the girls blinked and their faces began to fall. "Uh..." Tohru began, "Takeshi...?"

"Anyone else?"

Glancing away, Tohru quietly answered, "No..."

After a moment of considering their request, Meisuke finally groaned out, "...Fine. I'll invite some friends of mine so it won't be COMPLETELY barren."

With a bright, sparkling smile, Tohru asked, "Really!? You would do that!?" With a gasp, she enthused, "I get to meet some of Meisuke's friends! Ooh! Ooh! I wonder what they're like!"

"Yes," Meisuke answered with an unamused nod, "They're MY friends, so... try not to expect too much."

"What do you mean by that?" Tohru asked, uncertainty tinging her otherwise joyous expression.

"Just... you'll see."

...

"I'm ba~ack!" Tohru sang as she swung the door open and entered the apartment, a shopping bag swinging from her arm. "Aaaand," she paused for dramatic effect as she reached into the bag, "I brought cake!" With a dramatic flourish, she produced a sizable Christmas cake.

Meisuke eyed the cake suspiciously, saying, "Well, it's pretty big, so you must be expecting a lot of people." With a small shake of her head, she continued, "Sorry to burst your bubble, but only two people from my end are showing up today."

Blowing a raspberry at the dragoness, Tohru replied, "Just because there's only a couple of us, it doesn't mean we won't have fun! Or need a lot of cake!" Huffing, she grumbled, "Honestly, you're such a worrywart!"

Meisuke opened her mouth to reply when she was cut off by the doorbell. As both rose to answer it, however, Riko came streaking past, shouting, "I'll get it!"

Before either could do anything, Riko had already dashed in the hallway, so Tohru and Meisuke simply sat and listened.

After half a moment, they heard the front door open and Riko boldly begin to declare, "Hello and welcome to the Kobayashi Ho-" before suddenly falling dead silent. This silence lasted for half a moment before the door slammed shut once more with a scream from Riko, and with the quick padding of feet she dashed back into the kitchen, breathing heavily.

"A demon!" She cried. "A demon has arrived at the front door to our home!"

"Takeshi." Tohru and Meisuke said in unison.

...

"Greetings to you, Kobayashi household." Takeshi said, bowing low before the trio. "I am Takeshi Ooyama, most humbly at your service." Gritting his teeth, he added, "I deeply apologize for frightening young Riko. It was not my intention to cause any fright to any member of my host's family; it is strictly against what a butler stands for."

"Uh-huh!" Tohru said, snorting with a determined nod. Both Meisuke and Riko declined to comment on the bump which had spontaneously appeared on the man's head and the matching one swelling up on Tohru's hand.

...

"Ah," Meisuke said as the doorbell rang throughout the house, "it sounds like one of my friends are here."

As she rose to answer it, however, Tohru shot up and shouted, "No, no, let me! I want to greet them! I want to greet them!"

Thinking it over for a moment, Meisuke finally sighed and answered, "Well, I don't think I could actually stop you or talk you out of it, so... go ahead. Just... try not to regret it."

Nodding in approval, Takeshi added, "Indeed! If your master has decided on a course of action, it is your duty to respect and support that course. I commend you for your commitment and dedication, Miss Meisuke!"

With a shrug, the dragoness replied, "Yeah, well, it's not like I didn't warn her."

...

"Hello, and welcome to our ho-!" Tohru took in the figure before her. She quietly shut the door. She turned around. And she muttered to herself, "When I turn around, and I open the door again, there will NOT be a massive goat-serpent-dragon thing the size of the building floating out there. There will not be."

Pausing for a few deep breaths, she turned once more to the door and, with an extra-forceful "Hello, and welcome to our home!" she threw it open.

Standing there was a rather thin and tall but otherwise plain-looking twenty-something man with mid-length black hair. And the orange eyes of a goat. And straight white goat horns growing out of his forehead. And a set of fangs lining his mouth.

So... perhaps not entirely plain.

He wore a white button-down shirt with a black tie, dark grey slacks, a black pair of loafers, and a bright smile.

"Hey there!" The stranger began, "I'm Takiya Mokoto, but you can just call me Makoto." Apologetically rubbing the back of his head, he sheepishly said, "Sorry for the shock just then. I kinda forgot that Meisuke asked me to be in human form for this event. I was just kinda..." he paused to find the right word, "Excited that she had made a friend! She was always kinda lonely in our world."

Blinking in surprise at the man's politeness, Tohru nodded before stuttering out, "O-oh, uh, it's fine." With an awkward glance to the side, she muttered, "I wasn't exactly polite with my response either anyway." Shaking her head, she continued, "Anyway, welcome to our home! Go on ahead to the kitchen-it's right down the hall-and make yourself comfortable!"

With a nod and a bow, Takeshi turned to the hallway and began to walk to the kitchen as Meisuke approached.

"So that's Makoto," she began upon reaching Tohru. "He's a good friend of mine, but he's a bit too casual around people." With a shrug, she concluded, "Well, at least it makes it easier to be around him, even if he does come off a bit... odd."

Shaking her head in disagreement, Tohru said, "Not at all! He seems like a relaxing person to be around, so I'm sure we'll all have a lot of fun together!"

With a smile and a soft pat on Tohru's head-something that made the woman's face flare a bright tomato color-the dragoness turned to return the party as the doorbell rang again. As Tohru shook herself and turned to answer the door, however, it swung open of its own accord.

Standing in the doorway was another odd sight-clearly another one of Meisuke's friends. A small child, a boy with a messy purple bowl cut, stood before them, clutching a gnarled old staff. Though his left eye was shut, his right was vibrantly purple with a black pupil, a shining yellow slit within it. A pair of jagged horns sprouted from the sides of his head, curving to the back like a pair of reversed lightning bolts, and he wore a black tunic that was just a bit to big for his body with a similarly oversized black robe and wizard's hat.

"Meisuke!" He declared. "I have arrived at the correct address this time! The last three houses I tried attempted to offer me candy and announce my presence to someone called 'The Police' so they could escort me home! This is quite agreeable." Pausing, he turned to Tohru and, with a smile on his face, he said, "Ah, and you must be the household leader, this 'Kobayashi Tohru' I've heard so much about!" Pausing for a bow, he said, "I am Magatsuchi Shouta! It is a pleasure to make your transient mortal acquaintance!"

Blinking in confusion, Tohru returned the bow and glanced inquisitively at Meisuke.

The older dragoness sighed as she took in the strange boy's appearance and said, "Shouta, what are you wearing?"

With a boastful grin, he answered, "Mortal clothes, of course! And from only a few hundred years ago this time!"

Groaning at this, Meisuke explained to the confused Tohru, "Shouta may not look it, but he's probably the oldest living thing currently in this world. He's some sort of god, so his life is pretty long; he may look like a child, but he'll barely be scraping puberty by the time we're all long dead. So," she paused to shoot a wearisome glance at the boy, "he sometimes acts like a clueless idiot without meaning to. Now, for instance."

With an offended gasp, Shouta shouted back, "What are you talking about!? I have all the clues! So many clues!" Opening his left eye to reveal a black sclera with a yellow iris and a purple, slitlike pupil, he waved his hands about as he concluded, "I am the cluemaster!"

"Hence why you assume that humans-who live about a hundred years at most-would maintain the same clothes styles for centuries." Meisuke deadpanned back.

With a jolt, Shouta turned to Tohru with an abashed expression. "Truly!? Is that all the time your poor species has?" With a dramatic nod to himself, he added, "I see. How brave of you, Meisuke, to care for such a creature... and for you, Lady Kobayashi, to accept such care." With another bow, he declared, "I am at your service."

Mind reeling from this swift exchange of information, all Tohru could stammer out was, "U-uh, no, it's fine! You can, um, go to the kitchen and make yourself at h-home. Please do!"

With a nod and a salute, he answered, "Thank you! I will!" Turning dramatically, he declared, "To the kitchen!"

Turning uncertainly to Meisuke as the boy sauntered off, Tohru's mouth flapped silently in inarticulate questioning. With a shrug and a sheepish grin, Meisuke replied, "So... these are my friends! Nice crowd, huh?"

Pausing to consider this for a moment, Tohru couldn't help but agree. They were strange, sure, but they weren't bad people; Makoto was polite, if a bit unaware of his own frightening nature, and Shouta was... not perfect, but far humbler than she would generally expect a god to be. They were... pleasant.

With a bright smile and a firm nod, Tohru answered, "Yeah! They _are_ a nice crowd!"

"I was being sarcastic, actually..." Meisuke muttered, rubbing the back of her neck.

"...oh."

***End of Chapter 7***

A/N: Ah, most of the characters have finally been introduced! I'm pretty happy about that-plus, these are the first ones to be sorta kinda my own designs (y'know, because they were LARGELY adapted from the source material and reworked to suit different characters.)

AlsoI'msorryformissinganupdatepleasedon'tgetmadatmealsosorryforshorterchapter


	8. Chapter 8: Meisuke and Christmas Party

Chapter 8: Meisuke and Christmas Party

Taking a final sip from her beer can and finding it empty, Meisuke chucked it into the trash can as she rose, saying, "Alright, it's about time I go check to see how dinner's coming along." Hearing a cough, she turned to find Tohru glaring at her skeptically.

"...and grab myself another beer." The dragoness amended with a sigh.

"Nice to see you being more honest!" Tohru called out as Meisuke retreated into the kitchen. With a smile, she turned back to the table, surprised to find Shouta staring at her, a calculating smile on his face.

Noticing the air was quickly becoming tense and awkward, Tohru offered a quick cough before asking, "So, Shouta, how are you liking the party?"

With a shrug, he answered, "It's the first party I've had in a while, so on the whole it's quite passable. What I'm more interested in," pausing to open his left eye, he finished, "is how much Meisuke is smiling now."

Blinking, Tohru cocked her head with a hum of confusion.

Beginning to frown slightly, Shouta said, "I'm being serious, you know. Meisuke was always so serious; she was an adult from the moment she emerged from her egg. All she ever did was stare and watch with those calculating eyes of hers with a dead expression."

Hanging her head slightly, Tohru considered Shouta's words for a moment before answering, "I'm sure she's not like how you said, but any change that's happened wasn't because of me!" With a small shrug and a self-deprecating smile, she added, "I'm just a regular person... and not a very good one, at that!"

Shaking his head vehemently at her words, Shouta replied, "There's no such thing as ordinary! Especially not when it comes to Meisuke's life! She might seem sort of aloof, but just look at her friends and you can tell what's true!"

Cocking her head to glance over at the television, Tohru took note of Riko, Takeshi, and Makoto huddled around the game a console, a copy of some Dark Souls-ish game running. Although she wasn't sure that she wanted Riko to be around a game like that, she couldn't deny the excited, confident smile she wore on her face as she shouted commands out to Makoto, into the hands of whom Takiya had summarily forced the controller... something about 'testing his butler skill', though she hadn't the slightest idea what video games had to do with being a butler. The dark man in question was calmly advising Takiya, offering scraps of insight and information about the game to Makoto and warning him of traps and secret treasure he would be remiss to forget. The dragon, for his part, seemed to be enjoying himself, happily cheering along with the rest when a powerful enemy fell or a great treasure was obtained (something which appeared to grant him a particularly gratuitous amount of enthusiasm).

"I don't get it." Tohru said. "They seem... normal."

Nodding his head, Shouta replied, "Ah, yes! They do! He's a perfectly normal sort of person... in THIS world! But this behavior is _foreign_ in ours-unheard of! He should be a fearsome beast, roaming the countryside to feed his greed, and yet he's here," he paused, pointing at the dragon in question, "playing with some human as though nothing were out of the ordinary!"

Tilting her head, Tohru considered Shouta's point. "Yeah, but..."

"Don't doubt yourself!" The small dragon cried, turning to point at Tohru. "You may not realize that you are an incredible person in your own right, but one day you will! I have faith in any friend of Meisuke's who can change her like that! We all do! We all believe in you!" With a harrumph, he concluded, "So don't you ever doubt yourself, because you are better than you know!"

Taken aback by Shouta's dramatic outburst, all Tohru could manage was a small nod in response before Meisuke re-entered the room clutching a beer can, saying, "Alright, everybody, food's ready. Dig in when you feel like it."

Turning to Tohru once more, Shouta said, "Ah, yes, sustenance! As this is a party, there must, of course, be alcohol! Tohru, would you like to participate in a small contest of tolerance?"

Waving her hands, Tohru sheepishly answered, "Oh, no, I really shouldn't..."

...

"And _I_ shaid," Tohru shouted, her face flushed tomato red from far to much alcohol, "that the younnng monnnshter butler ish a FASHCINATINGGG evolussion of the concep-pt! It'hs a thouuuughtful deconshtruction wiiiith hiunts of egaaalitar'in ideaaals shuitable f'r the NEW MILLLLLENIUM!"

"N-new," Takeshi answered, his face similarly red, "is no automatic-ically tran-ansitionary valueee of _good!_" Angrily jabbing a wobbling finger at Tohru, he added, "Jussst becausit-t's a neeew _mutatiooon_ of the ideaaal doesn't-n't assignnn it automatic wo-orth!"

"Can you make out a word they're saying to each other?" Makoto whispered to Meisuke.

"Not a clue." Meisuke whispered back.

...

"Meisuke! Meisuke! Meisuke Meisuke Mei-"

"SHUSH, Riko!" Meisuke cried, twisting on the couch she napped on away from Riko. "Whatever it is, I'm sure that we can deal with it without you shouting at me!"

"What are you TALKING about, Meisuke!? Don't you know what today is!?" Riko shouted back.

Cracking open an eye, Meisuke shot an irritated glance at the calendar across the room. "It's February 14th." She muttered back.

"THAT'S IT!?" Riko cried. "Do you not realize that today is Valentine's Day!?"

"Don't you think you're shouting too much?" Meisuke grumbled. "Plus, it's _Saint_ Valentine's Day, and on those grounds I choose to not care."

Sighing, Riko began to pat the reclining Meisuke's head, much to the elder dragoness's irritation. "Don't you know," Riko began, "That today is SO much more than that!? Valentine's Day isn't about some old fogey! It's about love and lovers! The bonds between those who care for each other!"

After allowing a moment of silence to pass, Meisuke deadpanned, "And...?"

Pouting at Meisuke's indifference, Riko answered, "AND if you don't do anything for Tohru-who cares a lot about you, by the way!-she'll be really sad! I don't want to see her sad, and I bet you don't want that either!"

Sighing, Meisuke rose to a slightly less comfortable sitting position. "Riko," she said, "No matter what, remember this: I care for miss Tohru very, very much, even when it doesn't seem like it." With a sigh, she asked, "So... how do I make sure she doesn't get sad today?"

"With this!" Riko declared, proudly reaching under her shawl and producing a heart-shaped box with a small note labeled 'For: Tohru, From: Meisuke'. With a boastful smile, her forehead brightly shining, she continued, "Today, humans exchange chocolate to show their affection! And I made sure to have this made special!" With a wink, she added, "These are sure to make sure you BOTH have a happy Valentine's day!"

Accepting the box, Meisuke sat and stared at it for a moment. Finally, still gazing at the box, she began, "Riko..."

With a proud smile, the younger dragoness replied, "Yes, my certain-to-be-grateful Big Sis Meisuke?"

Lifting her gaze to stare at young Riko, steel and fire in her eyes, Meisuke said, "There is a human concept known as 'trust'. It is the most sacred of bonds between all living creatures, and is fundamental to all kindness and peace. It takes a lifetime to build, and a moment to lose. It is the ability to place faith in others and believe that faith will not be betrayed." Narrowing her eyes at the younger dragoness (who was now visibly shaking, her smile still present but awkwardly twitching), Meisuke finished, "Knowing this... are you sure I want to take that chocolate and give it to Tohru?"

Beginning to fidget, Riko wavered a moment before finally declaring, "Actually, um, you should make your own chocolate for Tohru! You'll have all day until she comes home, so you should take this opportunity to make some of your own instead of relying on mine because then it wouldn't mean as much!" Swiping the chocolate, Riko dashed away from the older dragoness as she said, "I think I'm going to go read manga and stay out of your way so you should DEFINITELY go do that!"

Stumbling out of the room in her haste, Riko muttered to herself, "Darn, that was close... another second and I would have been found out! I wasted a feather from a sacred dove and a singing stone on the love potion I put in these things, but I'll just have to bite the loss!" Sighing as she walked away, she added, "At least I let Meisuke know how big a deal today is. MAYBE it won't be as intense as I hoped, but it's _something_." With this and similar ramblings, Riko stopped at the bookshelf before she stalked away, leaving the box sitting on the bookshelf as she picked a volume at random.

"Kekkaishi, huh?" she mumbled as she left in search of a nice spot to curl up and read.

...

Stretching as she rose from the couch, Meisuke took another look at the calendar. "Valentine's Day, huh...?" She wondered aloud. With a sigh, she adjusted her clothes and said, "I guess I ought to go. I don't really get it, but I should still cover my bets. Even if it seems kinda silly, I would never hurt Tohru." Wandering over to the door, Meisuke set off to the market district in search of the ingredients she would need.

...

"Uwaaaaah!" Tohru cried as she stumbled back to her apartment. "Valentine's day suuuuucks! Every year there's a SURGE of creepy guys who try to hit on you when it rolls around! And you look like a jerk if you're too harsh in your rejection, but if you're too soft they'll think they have a shot and just _won't leave you alone!_" With a groan, she shouted, "Why must life be so cruel to someone so adorableeee?"

Trudging up the stairs to her home, Tohru allowed herself a small, happy sigh. At least she had a classy dragoness butler waiting for her at home; who else could say they had that?

"Huh? Meisuke?" Tohru called as she entered the house. Although the lights were on, she didn't see anyone inside as she entered. Shrugging, Tohru decided that Meisuke must be out shopping. With a small huff, she produced a small box of chocolates from her bag and muttered, "Aw, but I wanted to give her this..." Putting the box away with a sigh, she removed her shoes and entered the house. Pausing for a moment, she began to walk over to her bookshelf as she muttered, "I think I'll read until Meisuke gets back."

Upon arriving, she noticed that a heart-shaped box was sitting on the shelf with a small note on it. Picking it up, she found that the note was a small tag reading 'To: Tohru, From: Meisuke'. With a smile, Tohru hugged the box to her chest. "Aw, Meisuke!" She enthused. "You do care!"

...

"Hey, miss Tohru!" Riko called out as she walked towards the bookshelf to find the young woman standing before it, her back to the young dragoness. "Welcome home! How was wor-"

Riko paused as she took note of the empty chocolate wrappers sitting at Tohru's feet.

"Oh no."

For a moment, Tohru stood perfectly still. This moment was short lived, however, and soon the young woman turned. Riko's heart sunk as she noticed a bright red blush spreading across Tohru's face.

"Umm..." Riko dared, "how are you feeling...?"

Tottering slightly, Tohru stuttered, "Uh... I'm not sure... I feel kinda," she paused for a few blinks before concluding, "...hot?" Glancing down, Tohru's eyes dilated as her gaze settled on Riko.

"Hiya, Riko!" Tohru said in a stage whisper, kneeling down in front of the young dragoness. "How're you feeeeeling?"

Shuffling backwards, Riko ducked away from Tohru's advances. Glancing around for some source of inspiration, all Riko could think to blurt out was, "Uh... Tohru! You're sick! You should go lie down!"

Pausing to consider this for a moment, Tohru eventually nodded. "Yeah," she said, "now that you mention it, I'm feeling kinda off." With a stretch and a yawn, she added, "I think I'm gonna go lie down for a bit."

As she began to wander off towards her room, she threw a sultry glance over her shoulder and asked, "Do you want to come with~?"

"NNNOPE!" Riko shouted, forming an 'x' with her arms. "I'm JUST FINE, thanks! You have a good nap, though!"

With a disappointed _awww_ and another yawn, Tohru wandered off to bed.

...

Meisuke opened the apartment door to find Riko standing at the entrance, a smile far too wide on her face as she rocked back in forth in place. "Heeeeey there, Meisuke!" the younger dragoness said in a voice far too casual to feel normal. "Tohru's feeling kinda sick right now, so you should-"

Pushing past Riko, Meisuke entered the kitchen and set a box of chocolates down onto the counter. Riko skipped after her, inelegantly shouting, "Hey! Hey! Wait! Where are you going!? Stop!"

Glancing over her shoulder at the younger dragoness, Meisuke coldly asked, "...did she find those weird chocolates you made?"

Frightened by the sharp gaze Meisuke was subjecting her to, Riko began to tear up and cry, "Yes! Yes! I'm sorry I didn't think that this would happen and I didn't mean to leave it out but I _did_ and she _found_ them and it's just-"

Riko was interrupted by Meisuke placing a hand upon Riko's head. "Listen," the older dragoness began, "I get it, what you were trying to do. It was foolish, but... nice. Just don't do it again." With a shrug, Meisuke reached into one of the cabinets and produced a bottle. "I'm just going to go in and see Tohru... and give her some medicine to help her get better. It'll be fine, okay?"

With a small nod, Riko hung back and watched Meisuke leave the room.

"Huh." Riko mused after a silent moment had passed. "Maybe they'll have a happy Valentine's Day after all?"

...

"Meisuke..." Tohru muttered. She lay on her bed, a wet cloth draped across her head with her eyes half shut.

"I'm here."

Tohru opened her eyes to find that Meisuke was indeed standing over her, a small smile on her face and a small cup of some sharp-smelling liquid in her hand.

"Meisuke!" Tohru weakly enthused. "You're here! I'm so-" Wrinkling her nose at the smell coming from the cup, Tohru asked, "What IS that?"

Still smiling, Meisuke answered, "Oh, just some medicine... drink it up and get better quick, okay?"

With a nod, Tohru accepted the medicine and downed it with one gulp, scrunching up her whole face in distaste at its bitterness. Considering the flavor a moment, however, Tohru's displeasure turned into confusion and she turned to Meisuke. "Hey," the woman began, "this medicine tastes kinda... familiar..."

"That would be," Meisuke answered with the same smile still in place, "because that medicine was strong alcohol that would get a lightweight like you drunk quick and pass out so you could sleep off the love potion Riko slipped you."

"Wait," Tohru replied, the world turning just the slightest bit fuzzy, "Love Potion? All I did was eat a box of chocolates that were lying around... they said they were from you!"

Pinching her nose, Meisuke said, "Really, Tohru? Would I really just leave a gift for you lying around instead of just giving it to you."

Tohru's face fell.

"Ugh..." Meisuke groaned. "I can't believe that's only occurring to you now. Anyway," Meisuke reached into one of her pockets, producing a chocolate bar in a pink, frilly wrapper decorated with hearts. "Here. I tried to make some, but it didn't go well, so I just bought you some instead."

Blinking as she accepted the bar, Tohru smiled brightly, pointing at a bag in the corner of her room. "Thanks, Meisuke," she said as she began to recline once more and allowed her eyes to close. "I got you something... too..." With a yawn, she fell asleep.

Curiously turning to the bag Tohru had indicated, Meisuke walked over to it and, after rummaging around a bit, produced a large, heart-shaped box with the words 'For Meisuke' written in large, neat characters on the front. With a chuckle, she muttered, "Happy Valentine's Day, Miss Tohru..."

***End of Chapter 8***


	9. Chapter 9: Meisuke and Cleaning

Chapter 9: Meisuke and Cleaning

Meisuke sat on the roof in shimmering draconic form, sighing in contentment and relief as Tohru blasted the dragoness's back with a hose. Tohru for her part was glancing away as she did so, blushing brightly and biting her lower lip as though she were seeing something she wasn't supposed to. Every once in a while, though, she would sneak a glance at the dragon before looking away again as if she were worried about being caught.

Eventually, Meisuke noticed these half-glances Tohru was shooting her and, made be curious by the young woman's behavior, couldn't help but cock an eyebrow and ask, "What?"

Squeaking in surprise at the question, Tohru spluttered for a moment before finally spitting out, "I... um!" Shaking her head to calm her nerves, Tohru searched furiously for a conversation before finally settling on asking, "S-so... do you, erm, get cleaned like this often?"

Considering the question for a moment, Meisuke shuffled her wings as though shrugging before she replied, "Eh, not really. Where we're from, I kind of had to travel a lot, so there wasn't much I could do to get clean."

"Oh?" Tohru piped. "You traveled a lot over there?"

With a nod, Meisuke answered, "Yep. It was just what you did; if a dragon stayed in one place too long, humans would show up and start trying to slay you. It was a huge hassle."

Tohru considered this for a moment before muttering, "Huh... kind of like hunting a rare monster for special loot in an RPG..." Then, shaking her head, she asked, "So how'd you deal with it all?"

With another wing shuffling, Meisuke continued, "Well, sometimes I'd sleep in a cave, or hang out in some ruins for a bit, or... well, sometimes, I'd just pass out mid-flight. Almost crashed a couple times that way, but I haven't bought it yet, so... meh."

"Wait, so you just traveled however you wanted? And that's why you couldn't clean yourself up?" Tohru asked.

With a nod, Meisuke replied, "Yup. Was always kind of hard to find a place to do it, and the road wasn't exactly the most 'hygienic' of places." Shuddering a bit, she muttered, "My mouth was full of bugs..."

"Erm..." Tohru began, shifting uncomfortably, "Don't you mean, 'your mouth was always bugging you'?"

The blank stare she received from the dragoness let a long and awkward silence fill the air before Tohru forced an overly wide smile and said, "SO _ANYWAY_... how'd you get yourself clean?"

Meisuke thought for a moment before answering, "I would always try to find a spring or waterfall big enough to get the job done, but there weren't many big enough. Mostly, I would hope for a bit of rain to come through and, if there weren't any other options, we dragons would-" Meiuske's statement ground to a halt before she glanced away, saying, "Erm... we'd do... stuff."

"Huh?" Tohru said, cocking her head to the side in confusion. "I don't get it; what did you do?"

"Well, we... that is..." Meisuke avoided the young woman's gaze as she trailed off.

Frowning, Tohru said, "Whatever it is, you can tell me! I'm sure it's okay."

Taking a deep breath, Meisuke concluded, "...we lick each other clean. In fact, I've done it with Riko before." Doggedly staring in any direction than the one Tohru was in, Meisuke added, "Several times."

Blinking as she grew tomato red, the only response Tohru could offer was a quiet, "Oh."

...

"Alright," Meisuke (now in human form) declared as they entered the apartment, "It's time for me to clean this place up!"

Tohru glanced around, noticing that the room had only a bit of dust and hardly any clutter. "Wow," the young woman began, "there's hardly any mess at all! Are you some kind of clean freak, Meisuke?"

Considering the question, Meisuke shook her head before saying, "Eh, not really, but... I'm not really keeping this place clean for _me_." With a shrug, she added, "Any house or apartment I wasn't in charge of cleaning would probably be cluttered with beer and dead plants. I probably wouldn't do a whole lot of 'personal hygiene' stuff, either; It's not really a big deal for dragons, though, because we don't get sick too often. Humans aren't that lucky, I guess. Speaking of which..."

Meisuke suddenly threw an accusatory finger at Tohru, declaring, "Tohru! You live with no concern for cleanliness whatsoever!"

Tohru blinked, taken aback by the sudden shift in the conversation as well as by the accuracy of her assessment. "Ah, well, um... what do you mean by that?" was all Tohru could respond with.

Frowning, Meisuke began to rant, "Every time you eat, you just leave the instant meal cup or plate wherever you were sitting! Plus, when you take something off the bookshelf, you don't try to put it back in the right place at all; you just put it wherever you notice there's a space, even if it's just on a counter top or something! It's a messy way to live!"

Backing away sheepishly, Tohru began to say, "Ugh, well... it's not that big, right? I mean, when I first got out of the house, one of the big things I was really happy about was that my parents wouldn't complain about how I lived anymore."

Shifting from a frown to a full-blown scowl, Meisuke declared, "Of _course_ it matters! Think about the example you're setting for Riko!" She paused to point at the younger dragoness who was sitting in the corner, sipping from a juice pouch as she watched the spectacle unfold before her.

Frantically trying to think of a way to escape Meisuke's wrath, Tohru suddenly struck upon an idea. Beginning to blush, she turned away shyly as she began, "But Meisuke..."

"Hm?" Tohru replied, cocking an eyebrow in suspicion.

"You're always keeping thins so clean for me that I'd feel bad if I wasn't a little bit messy..." Turning to gaze at Meisuke with her best maid smile, she concluded, "I don't want to put you out of work, after all..."

Smiling, Meisuke sighed out, "Awww, Tohru! How sweet!"

Grinning internally, Tohru congratulated herself on a job well done.

"...That's what you expected me to say, right?"

Tohru started at that. Meisuke's statement didn't bode well for her.

"Really though," Meisuke continued, "I'm THOUSANDS of years old and a master of information gathering. Do you think I couldn't see through this little deception...?" Meisuke began to chuckle and grin evilly before concluding, "I know what's going on here. And today, you're going to help me clean _all_ of this now..."

Watching what came after Meisuke's statement with a passive expression, Riko muttered, "Meisuke can be pretty evil, huh...?"

...

Tohru sunk into the warm bath, releasing a moaning sigh that was somewhere between relief and disappointment. Blowing a few bubbles through the water, she mumbled to herself, "Aw... no fair, Meisuke, making me do all that deep cleaning... and on my day off, too..."

Suddenly, she heard a knock on the door before Meisuke called out, "Miss Tohru?"

Disappointment turning to curiosity, she called back, "Yeah, Meisuke?"

Tohru heard shuffling on the other side of the door for a moment before Meisuke continued, "Uh... well, I was feeling sorta bad about how I treated you today, and I wanted to thank you for helping bathe me, so..." A moment passed and Tohru thought Meisuke had given up. She was surprised, then, when the dragoness continued by asking, "...do you want me to wash your back?"

Tohru, surprised by the question and the rare tenderness Meisuke was displaying, began to blush a light red and nod shyly. After a moment, she realized that Meisuke couldn't see her and began to blush more deeply before replying, "A-ah, um, yes..."

...

Tohru doggedly focused on the floor tiles as she felt Meisuke silently scrub her back. It wasn't an uncomfortable or cold silence, merely a tense one; both shifted only statically and inoffensively, as though trying to determine how to approach the other.

As the moment dragged on, Tohru finally began to speak, saying "S-so, uh, Meisuke!" Waiting until she felt the dragoness momentarily pause in her ministrations before pressing on, Tohru asked, "It, um... it must be easier to keep yourself clean now that you're like a human, huh?"

Considering the question, Meisuke began to nod to herself as she answered, "Yeah, it can get kinda annoying to wash in my normal form at times, but... human forms are sort of... uncomfortable."

Frowning at the answer, Tohru couldn't help but ask, "What do you mean by that?"

Shrugging, Meisuke replied, "I guess it's like... Alright, imagine trying to fit your whole body into a little cardboard box. It gives a little, yeah, but it's still a tight fit, and it's not really designed to have you in it. It's just sort of... awkward." With a sigh, she added, "Though I guess I've never really been one to just settle down, so any sort of restriction can get to me pretty easily nowadays. Especially when you're in a world like yours with so many."

Tohru's frown deepened and she muttered, half to herself, "So I guess you don't like being in human form at all, huh..."

Suddenly, Meisuke dropped her chin onto Tohru's shoulder, making the young woman blush even brighter than before. Meisuke stared at her through the corner of her eye for what seemed to Tohru as a century before the dragoness finally muttered, "I don't feel that way at all. I love being in human form because it lets me be in this world... and as long as I'm in this world, I can be with you." Meisuke smiled, concluding, "So I guess you could say I really, really do like this world."

Tohru teared up slightly and opened her mouth to respond before being cut off by the bathroom door being pulled open.

"I have decided to join you!" Riko declared as stepped into the bathroom, adding, "Big Sis Meisuke is in charge of helping clean me as well!"

Tohru and Meisuke both sighed, Meisuke in irritation, Tohru in contentment.

...

"Hey, Tohru," Meisuke asked, "What do you want for dinner today?"

Tohru glanced up from her shoes as she tied them in preparation for work. Considering the question for a moment, Tohru answered, "Eh, anything's fine." After pausing to think further, Tohru began to smile as she asked, "Hey, what about some in-

"Tohru." Meisuke interrupted. "Whatever comes next had better not involve instant noodles."

Smiling sheepishly, Tohru avoided eye contact with the dragoness as she instead asked, "What would you want to eat, Meisuke?"

Taken aback by the question, Meisuke mentally listed what they had eaten for lunch over the last few days before asking, "Tohru... you serve Omelet Rice where you work, right?"

Nodding as she furrowed her brow in confusion, Tohru answered, "Yeah-it's a maid cafe, after all. Why?"

Meisuke straightened her tie before extended her hand to the young woman. "Well, if you're always serving omurice," Meisuke said, "Wouldn't it be nice to have some omurice served to you instead?"

Surprised by Meisuke's question and consideration, Tohru eagerly nodded as she enthused, "Wow, Meisuke, thanks! That sounds like it'd be really good!"

Giving Tohru a thumbs up as the young woman finished her preparations, Meisuke said, "Omurice it is, then! Just remember, Tohru: work hard today so you can build up a big appetite! Got it?"

With a nod and a salute as she walked out the door, Tohru answered, "Yes, ma'am!"

...

Meisuke glared at the ingredients she arranged before her. While everything she had available to her was _passable_, not even the greatest of chefs could do anything special with them. She wanted to make something that would be just as 'really good' as Tohru expected, but if she used this stuff to try...

"Yeah," the dragoness confirmed aloud, "I'm just not feeling it."

As she pondered her available options, a knock came from the front door and, deciding that it would be a welcome distraction from her fruitless task, Meisuke went to answer it.

Opening the door, Meisuke was greeted by a strange sight. Shouta stood on her doorstep, a serious expression on his face as usual; however, rather than his wizardly robes, he wore a long purple tunic with ornate golden stitching. The garment stopped just above a pair of golden silk slippers worn over tall white stockings, and a golden cape was thrown over his shoulders. Around his neck he wore a golden gorget and on his brow he bore an ornate golden crown with elaborate carvings of dragons in conflict etched upon it.

"Greetings once more to you and the Kobayashi household, Meisuke!" The small dragon declared, puffing his chest out proudly. "I have amended my outfit to be more suitable to this modern age and, having been in the vicinity of your home, decided to pay homage and offer my greetings as well beseech you for a glass of this human 'coffee' liquid to which such great properties have I heard attributed!"

Meisuke sighed in resignation, unsurprised but still disappointed by Shouta's antics. Noticing Meisuke's exasperation, the small dragon asked, "Is something the matter, goodly Meisuke?"

As she turned to make the coffee, allowing Shouta into the apartment, Meisuke answered, "You're still dressed like a fossil... and you talk like one, too."

Shouta flinched in shock at this denouncement, crying, "Verily!?"

***End of Chapter 9***

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter, everyone... and the missed deadline, too...

Some stuff happened (a lot of stuff, actually), and there's still a lot of stuff I have to do. I want to try and keep things up, and I should have another chapter of this out by next week, but I'll be taking a break from "It's Not My Fault We're Together!" until the next chapter of WataMote comes out. Sorry again...


	10. Chapter 10: Meisuke and Omurice

Chapter 10: Meisuke and Omurice

A/N:

...Hey, everyone.

Sorry I've been gone lately; I've been dealing with a severe case of real life compounded with a touch of the old writer's block. I haven't had much of a chance to write because life, and the few opportunities I had to sit down and try to get something out, I just couldn't. I managed to sort of work through the block, at least, but I might not be able to publish to two or three stories weekly or even biweekly. I'll try-and I sincerely apologize to everyone who's disappointed by this-but it's... difficult.

...

"Omelet Rice, you say?" Shouta asked, swishing his cup of coffee as he considered Meisuke's problem. "Is that some delicacy of this world?"

Shaking her hand noncommittally, Meisuke answered, "Eh, it's more of a 'whatever' kind of thing that's mostly about the experience instead of the food itself, but... I'd still like to make it right."

Nodding in understanding, Shouta replied, "Ah, yes, a most noble of struggles: pleasing your master!" The small dragon stroked his chin for a moment before lifting his finger in excitement and crying, "Eureka! I know exactly how to succeed in your great labor!"

Cocking her eyebrow as she braced for a ridiculous, unreasonable plan, Meisuke said, "Alright, then... let's hear it."

Chuckling boldly, Shouta rose to his feet-his short stature rendering the gesture mostly pointless even though he stood on his chair-as he declared, "You must make it with the greatest materials, of course! The finest eggs, the greatest rice, the choicest meats, all must be to an exacting standard."

Blinking in surprise at the unexpectedly feasible suggestion, Meisuke couldn't help but sigh as she answered, "Sure, that'd be great... except that sort of stuff costs money, and enough to meet all of THAT definitely costs WAY more than we could afford."

Shouta shook his head in irritation, flexing his fists as he said, "You misunderstand, goodly Meisuke! I mean not that you should procure the ingredients from the market! I'm certain the bazaar has many fine ingredients, but even that won't do!" Dramatically falling back into his seat, Shouta leaned upon the table as he arched his fingers and fixed Meisuke with a piercing gaze. "I mean," he began, "that you must return to the other world... to _our_ world... and gather them yourself!"

Meisuke furrowed her brow, thinking the suggestion over. While this particular solution wasn't one that had occurred to her, that was for good reason: because it didn't really seem like a good one. Shaking her head, Meisuke answered, "I don't really think that would be a good idea... I mean, wouldn't that make the omurice kinda... well, weird?"

Scoffing at the dragoness's question, Shouta replied, "Normal! What is normal!? Nothing! Certainly not for Miss Tohru! She accepted you into her life, and truly cares for you; she accepts what and who you are, and accepts all of your friends as well! You don't bother her, and I doubt you _could_. Do you doubt _her_? Doubt that she could accept something you made with all of your heart to please her just because it's outside of what she would call 'ordinary'!?"

Meisuke blushed at the ancient dragon's words, glancing away and awkwardly scratching at her cheek as she answered, "Well, I would say 'with all of my heart' is exaggerating a bit, but... Tohru really does act like that, yeah." Bolting up suddenly, Meisuke pumped her fist and said, "Yeah... yeah, you're right! How could I just reject her feelings like that! I'll do what makes Tohru happy, and I know that she'll be happy that I tried so hard!" Chuckling as she turned and began to walk out of the room, she added-mostly to herself-, "Heh, she might even feel sheepish about how far I went for her... it'll be sort of cute to see her flustered."

Riko poked her head into the kitchen, having been alerted by the elder dragoness's footsteps that something was happening. Noticing that Meisuke was heading for the door, the young dragoness called out, asking, "Hey, Meisuke, where're you going?"

Glancing over her shoulder, Meisuke replied, "I'm off to the other world. I have to pick up some stuff for dinner-try not to laze around too much while I'm gone, okay?"

Waving her hands in protest, Riko cried, "Wait, what about him!?" She pointed at Shouta, who was still seated at the table, sipping his coffee in satisfaction.

Shrugging, Meisuke answered, "Whatever's fine. Hang out, I guess? You guys are kinda the same age, right?"

Riko spluttered as she replied, "WHAT!? NO WAY! That guy's a complete fossil! An old fogey! Older than Gilgamesh!"

"Well, that sounds like," Meisuke replied as she walked out the door, "your problem."

The older dragoness chuckled to herself as she heard Riko cry out her name.

...

Riko turned, glaring warily at Shouta. The ancient dragon, for his part, was still sitting at the table, drinking the same coffee with the same aplomb. A moment passed, and then two.

Riko found herself incredibly bored.

"So," the young dragoness began, unsure how to approach the far elder dragon, "want to play a game or something?"

As soon as the sentence had left Riko's mouth, the sounds of coffee being drank stopped. Shouta slowly lowered his cup to its plate, a dangerous sparkle flashing in his eye.

"Games, you say...?" he asked, drawing a thick, old wooden board stained with tea and wear from within his cape. "Has anyone ever taught you how to play... Go?"

Shrugging, Riko answered, "Can't say they have, but it's not like we have anything better to do." This said, she sat down before the board as Shouta produced a pair of bowls from within his cloak.

...

The door to the apartment swung open with a _bang!_ as Meisuke collapsed onto the ground, her suit and form covered with dirt, cuts, and blood. Her hair ragged, her horns chipped, and her glasses all but broken, she nonetheless wore a triumphant expression, a broad smirk and narrowed brow adorning her face. In her hands she clutched three bags filled with the spoils of her day, each a hard-won treasure. The oil she had gathered from the Ancient Pit of Terrible Lizards, salt used to ward off 48 demons, pepper taken from the Vine of Bacchus... all of it was nearly irreplaceable, and all of it was, as as far as Meisuke cared, what Tohru deserved.

Meisuke pushed herself to her feet, barely managing to stumble forward, step by step until she had reached the kitchen.

Or what was left of the kitchen, anyway.

"WHAT DID YOU TWO DO!?" she shrieked, surveying the absolutely wrecked room. The floor was blasted and burned, the wallpaper was peeling, the stove was scorched and charred, and laying amidst it all were the forms of Shouta and Riko, collapsed beside a completed Go board.

"You were... you were a fine opponent, Riko..." Shouta managed to groan out, "almost as good as Fujiwara no Sai..."

Chuckling, the young dragoness replied, "Yeah, old man... even if I did lose... it was an honor to play you..."

Cocking her eyebrow, Meisuke reigned in her anger long enough to pull herself over to the board. She was, in fact, impressed with the aftermath of the incredible game played before her, but something seemed off. After a moment, it clicked in her head, and she asked, "Riko's playing white, right?"

Both nodded in response.

"Y'know," Meisuke began, "with the komi, Riko actually won."

Silence filled the room for a moment, quickly dispelled by the prostrate dragons' identical cries of "WHAT?!"

...

A brief explanation of komidashi and a scolding for destroying the kitchen followed by a restoration spell later, Meisuke sat at the counter with the ingredients she had gathered that day spread before her. Glancing at Shouta and Riko, now confined to the corner so that they could reflect on their actions, Meisuke couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt. Silently cursing herself for her softheartedness as she began to rub her neck, Meisuke made up her mind.

"Hey, you two," she began, "You want to help me with this?"

The two small dragons' faces lit up with excitement and relief.

...

"Phew..." Meisuke breathed, wiping sweat from her brow as she switched off the stovetop. "Looks like it's finished." With a deft flick of the spatula, she shifted the omelet onto a readied plate and carefully finished the dish before whisking it over to the table. Retrieving the prepared ketchup bottle, she turned to the expectantly waiting dragons with a smile.

"What should we write?"

Riko, Meisuke, and Shouta all thought for a moment before taking the bottle in turn, each writing a small message or offering a quick little doodle.

...

"Welcome back, Miss Tohru!" The three dragons cheered as the young woman in question entered her apartment, a little worse for the wear. Tohru blinked in surprise, not expecting the three-pronged joy assault. Before she could utter a word, however, Riko had already taken hold of her hand, dragging Tohru over to the table where a large covered dish awaited her. Taking a seat at the youngest dragon's insistence, Tohru waited patiently as Meisuke came forward to the table. With a smile and a dramatic _swish_, she whipped off the cover to...

A delicious, fluffy pile of omurice. It wasn't a normal-looking omurice, not a bit; it had strange lumps, splotches of red and purple, a sharp scent... anything that could be unusual, was. However, that didn't mean it was unappetizing.

With a shining smile, Tohru took a deep breath and said, "It looks delicious!"

Meisuke let out a satisfied huff as she thought to herself that the day's labor was most definitely worth it.

...

"...I'm bored," Riko announced.

Tohru tilted her head, unsurprised by the young dragoness's declaration. She made several such statements on a daily basis, and each time she would have to find some distraction or other to keep her busy. Every once in a while they would have Shouta play with her for a bit, but the ancient dragon was currently banned from the house due to a particularly disastrous game of Shogi. Clearly, whichever show tv show was being rerun at the moment (Tohru herself had checked out several minutes before), it had failed to hold Riko's lasting interest. Stroking her chin for a moment, Tohru raised her finger and suggested, "Would you like to play videogames? Or go out for a bit? Or maybe we could have a snack!"

Shaking her head, Riko rose to her feet and trudged over to the windowsill, plopping herself down onto it as she said, "Nah, I'm boooored of that stuff... I wanna do something new..." As she gazed out the window, however, she noticed something she had always ignored: a group of human children all dressed in the same outfit moving along the sidewalk in a massive crowd, happily chatting and laughing together. Turning to her guardian in interest, Riko asked, "Hey, miss Tohru... what're those kids doing?"

Rising in curiosity, Tohru crossed the room and glanced out at the street. She smiled as she noticed the children and answered, "Ah, those are just some kids going off to school. Pretty sure the semester's ending soon; they're probably really excited about that."

Cocking her head in confusion, Riko asked, "What is... school?"

"Ah, you didn't come across that during your research about this world, Riko?" Meisuke asked, poking her head into the room as she began to wag her finger at the younger dragoness. "Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy."

Riko blushed fiercely at this condemnation, spluttering back, "O-o-of course I did! It-it's just that, well, u-um, I wanted to he-hear what a human had to s-say about it!"

"Suuuuure, that's DEFINITELY true." the elder dragoness continued with a smile, turning to Tohru. "So, Tohru, care to explain for young Riko just what school is?"

Nodding, Tohru answered, "School is where kids go to learn how to learn how to live and make friends." With an awkward chuckle, she added, "...I wasn't really good at either, though..."

Lighting up at the information, Riko began to bounce in place as she said, "Wow! That's DEFINITELY something new! I'm gonna do it! I'm gonna be the best school person! Um, that is..." Riko glanced at Meisuke. "What do you call that?"

The older dragon grinned sardonically as she replied, "But don't you know already that's called a 'student' from your many hours of research, Riko...?"

Laughing awkwardly, Riko replied, "B-but of course! Just wanted to make sure, right!?"

With a shrug, Meisuke replied, "Sure, sure, fine. Anyway, you want to go to school, right?"

Once Riko had offered a nod in response, the older dragoness turned to Tohru and asked, "Hey, if Riko wants to go to school, she'll need some paperwork. Could you grab yours real quick, miss Tohru?"

The young woman nodded once before cocking her head in confusion, asking, "Sure, but... why?"

"Because I'll need to do a little office work," Meisuke replied, her hands beginning to glow as a magical circle appeared around them.

***End of Chapter 10***


	11. Chapter 11: Riko and Shopping

Chapter 11: Riko and Shopping

"If I'm going to be the best student," Riko declared as she boldly led the way into the shopping district, thrusting her fist dramatically into the air, "I have to have the best school supplies! That's why I need to get the coolest, best stuff!" Before the arrogant young dragoness could continue her speech, however, she was interrupted with a blow to the head.

Lifting her hand for a second strike, Meisuke replied, "Miss Tohru is paying for all of this, remember? It's her money-and she doesn't have a lot in the first place-so you had better remember to thank her and not expect her to spend it all on you!"

Riko rolled her eyes at the older dragon as she rubbed her bruise, saying, "C'mon, Meisuke! Miss Tohru is a human worthy of the affection of dragons! Surely she can..." She trailed off as she turned to the young woman in question.

"Uwaaah..." Tohru moaned, a dark shadow falling across her features and a smog of depression appearing to cling to her as she reviewed the list of school supplies necessary for Riko's schooling. "All of this is gonna leave me with nothing but cupmen for a week..."

Meisuke sighed, shaking her head at the young woman as she said, "First of all, even if it'll get pricey, it's not _that_ expensive. Second, would you _really_ be that sad if it did?"

Chuckling awkwardly, Tohru muttered, "Yeah, you kinda got me there..."

"Anyway," Meisuke said, taking the lead, "Let's just start with the basics, alright?"

...

"Hello and welcome!" The friendly proprietor of Noyama Stationary called out as their small group entered. "Feel free to browse, and don't hesitate to give a shout if you need help."

Meisuke nodded at the owner before searching through the store for Riko's materials as the young dragon looked on in horror. "What _is_ this!?" Riko cried indignantly, pouting at the various nondescript pencils and notebooks for sale. "None of it's cute! I'm gonna look totally lameee!"

Meisuke shook her head, a scowl quickly forming as she turned to the young dragoness and said, "Be grateful, Riko! Miss Tohru isn't made of money, and school's supposed to test _your knowledge_, not _my patience_!"

"Erm," Tohru began, squeaking out of nerves as both Riko and Meisuke turned to face her. Pausing to clear her throat, she tried again, saying, "...I don't actually mind, as long as Riko's happy... I'll be fine with a little extra cost..." She emphasized this by parting her fingers just slightly, adding, "It's not every day you go to school for the first time, y'know?"

For a moment Meisuke maintained her scowl, but she quickly relented. "Alright," she replied, "as long as Riko's happy."

...

"How about here?" Meisuke said, pointing to a brightly decorated stationary store sitting next to the shopping district. "It looks like it'll have what you're looking for, right?"

Stepping into the store, Riko's face lit up as she took in the colorful displays and happy children thronging about before exclaiming, "This is _exactly_ it! It's all so... so... so CUTE!" Pausing for a boastful smile, she puffed out her chest as she concluded, "With stuff like this, I'm gonna be the coolest person in school! Even if I don't know what this stuff is for!"

Frowning as she cocked her head, Tohru asked, "Wait, but I thought you knew about all of this sort of stuff from your research into the human world...?"

Jolting in place, Riko awkwardly glanced away as sweat began to pour down her face. "I... I know, it's just, uh..." Thrusting her finger forward, she declared, "I-I'm just playing around! I definitely know what, uh..." Quickly turning to scan through the various products lining the shelves, the young dragoness's eyes landed on a pencil pouch. Snapping it up, she concluded, "THIS! I know what this is!"

"Oh?" Meisuke deadpanned as she cocked an eyebrow. "Well then, Riko, tell us... what do you think it is?"

An arrogant smile filled her face as Riko replied, "It's _obviously_ a bag for apprentice mages to store their spell components, of course!"

The older dragoness crossed her arms in an 'x', humming a loud _bzzz_ as she said, "Nope! That's a pencil pouch. Kids store their writing stuff in them."

Riko blushed furiously as she shouted back, "I-I knew that! I w-was just... uh... playing around!" With a hurried nod, she added, "Yeah! Just playing! I knew that."

"Whatever you say," Meisuke said, rolling her eyes as she led them deeper into the store.

...

Riko rubbed tears from her eyes as she was led to the front of the store, clutching a small, fluffy white pencil pouch as she muttered, "That poor unicorn!" over and over. As Tohru opened her mouth to ask, however, Meisuke lifted her hand to cut her off.

"Don't," the elder dragoness said, "Just... don't."

...

Fighting back a scowl with all of her might, Tohru halfheartedly muttered, "Yay... the mall..."

Meisuke's expression shifted to one of concern as she said, "I know you don't like this place, Miss Tohru, but there wasn't any choice. Riko needs a backpack and nowhere else sells any. Will you be alright?"

"S-s-sure?" The young woman replied with a shaky smile, "A-as long as you and R-Riko are there, I should be fi-fine."

Thus, clasping one hand over her mouth and the other over her stomach to suppress her desire to vomit in anxiety, Tohru followed Meisuke and Riko into the mall.

...

Meisuke slapped Riko's hands away from a dark red backpack, saying, "No, Riko." Stick her tongue out, the younger dragoness folded her arms and petulantly fumed. Watching this, Tohru couldn't help but cock her head in confusion.

"I don't get it," she said, "What's wrong with that backpack?"

Casting the young woman a wearied glance, Meisuke asked, "Hey, Riko, why _that_ backpack?"

"Because it's a cursed item, soaked in blood and steeped in violence, of course!"

As she shrank back in concern, Tohru couldn't help but concede the point.

...

Riko skipped along, humming a jubilant tune as she followed Meisuke and Tohru-who now held an emerald green backpack-to the checkout line. As she did so, however, she couldn't help but stop and take note of a small, adorable keychain of an alligator with a high school uniform jacket. Squealing with delight, she snatched up the prize and rushed over to her guardians... before grinding to a halt as she overheard their conversation.

"That's... that's almost as much as I make in a week..."

"It's not _that_ much, but it is still a lot... are you sure you'll be okay, Miss Tohru?"

"Yeah, I should be fine... I think. Oh! Uh, that'll be credit, ma'am..."

Glancing down at the keychain for a moment, Riko sighed and-clasping it to her chest for a moment-turned, quietly muttering, "...I can't be great if I'm not good to the people I like, right?" under her breath as she placed the charm back on its respective hook.

Tohru's ears twitched just slightly as she cast a quick glance over her shoulder, taking note of the young dragoness and the charm as she returned it.

...

Humming in discontent, Tohru leaned over to Meisuke as she whispered, "Is this really okay?"

Meisuke shrugged as she sized up the uniform shop they found themselves at. After a moment, she replied, "It's not like we have any choice. We have to get the uniforms here, so we're getting them here; that's all there is to it."

As they entered the store, Riko began to pout, saying, "How are we supposed to find anything in here? Everything looks the exact same!" Fuming, she exclaimed, "Why do humans have to make this so frustrating?"

"It's not about being frustrating." Tohru replied, raising a finger informatively. "It's about being normal. At least, that's what they always told me."

Riko raised an eyebrow in skepticism at this, asking, "Why would anyone want everyone to just look the same? Where's the fun in that?" She stuck out her tongue at this, adding, "I don't want to be NORMAL! I'm already great; why would I want to hide that!?"

Shrugging, Tohru replied, "Well, people... people don't want to be alone, Y'know? It's all because it's... lonely, being alone, I guess. People don't want to be hated for being different, so they try to be normal instead. But being normal's _hard!_" Pausing to heave an exasperated sigh, she continued, "It's _exhausting!_ And no one can really _be_ normal, so instead... we use the same clothes to make ourselves _feel_ normal, even if it's only for pretend."

"Being normal, huh...?" Riko muttered. "So it's _good_ to be normal?"

Tohru shook her head as she replied, "No, not exactly... but it makes you feel less _weird_, and while being weird's not a _bad_ thing, it can feel bad. So schools try to protect everyone from being hurt for being weird, I guess." With a smile, she concluded, "I don't really know, though; that's just how I feel!"

Humming as she considered Tohru's argument, Riko finally replied, "So it's about being happy, huh...? Well, I don't really understand it, but I guess if you think it's alright, Miss Tohru, it receives my seal of approval!" She punctuated this statement with a peace sign, thrusting her arm as high as she could to indicate her acceptance.

Tohru and Meisuke both smiled as they returned the gesture, giggling as they all turned for home.

...

"Aaah, I can't WAIT!" Riko declared, pouncing on Tohru as they walked home, struggling to clasp tight both to her backpack and the young woman's arm.

Tohru blinked in surprised before quietly returning the hug, her confusion slowly turning to contentment as she fought both to walk and guide Riko at the same time.

Taking a long sip from a can of beer, Meisuke smiled as she looked on. _It's nice to see Riko getting on with this world and Miss Tohru, too. I don't think she's noticed it herself yet, but already Riko grown up a lot, huh._

"Wait, Meisuke, where'd you get that!? You shouldn't be drinking while walking down the street; you'll set a bad example for Riko! What if she becomes a delinquent who buys juice from a vending machine and then spills it all over the place as she walks down the hallway!?"

"What, in elementary school? I think we can wait a few years before we worry too much, Miss Tohru."

...

"Hi, everyone! My name is Kobayashi Riko! It's nice to meet you all!" Riko declared, posing dramatically as she introduced herself.

"Uh, yes," her teacher said, taken aback at the interruption, "A-as I was saying, this is your new classmate, Kobayashi Riko. Let's all give her a warm welcome!"

A bit of chatter ran through the class, some commenting on her forceful personality and others declaring how pretty she was. After a moment, the chatter died down as a student called out, "Where are you from?"

Smirking at the inquiry, Riko dramatically threw out her arm, replying, "An excellent question! I am from... Ushishir!" A ripple ran through the class at this information, and the students began to marvel at the strange foreigner among them. Riko smirked; this was going better than even she had anticipated!

...

"Yeah, everything seems to be going pretty well in there." Meisuke muttered to herself, watching from the roof of a nearby building. "I get Miss Tohru figured it would be fine, and school doesn't seem like such a bad place, but... I'm worried." Sighing, she added, "Riko has a tendency to butt heads with people. Will she really be okay?"

...

"And how about this one, class?" The teacher asked. "Riko, what about you?"

Stepping towards the board with confident smile, Riko quickly wrote out the answer and, after a smile and a nod from her teacher, returned to her seat.

Meisuke hummed uncertainly. "I wonder if she's enjoying this as much as she though...?" She asked. "I know she wanted to try something _new_, but I'm surprised she doesn't find it _boring_ as well. Still, she hasn't given up; I would've expected her to do _that_ within ten minutes of the class beginning. Good on her, I guess, but how long will she keep this up...?"

Lounging on the roof as she kept watch for the next several hours, Meisuke couldn't help but reflect on the way schools were run in this world, she couldn't help but mutter, "Ugh... the gods of this world get schools dedicated to _them_... why don't dragons get the same, huh...?"

...

Riko grunted, hurling a dodgeball across the court line, pelting her foes mercilessly with rubber projectiles.

"Y'know," Meisuke muttered as she looked, "I figured they had got rid of that game years ago. Good for them, I guess, and clearly for Riko as well." Her eyebrow shot up in interest as she watched a few of Riko's classmates approach her and began offering praise and encouragement to the girl. The older dragoness shrugged as she concluded, "They're all swarming her because she holds power, huh...? Well, it's just human nature I guess..."

As she rose, deciding that she had seen enough and that Riko was in good hands, she couldn't help but add, "Well, maybe... or maybe not."

...

Taking note of a mass of students swarming around a single desk, Riko tapped a nearby classmate on the shoulder and said, "Hey, what's all this crowding about?"

Her classmate shrugged in reply, saying, "Eh, it's Kamui Kanna; it's been a while since everyone's seen her thanks to summer break, so everyone's real excited to greet her."

_Excited!?_ Riko thought, beginning to push through the crowd in a huff. _I'm NEW! I should be WAY more interesting than this 'Kanna' girl!_

"HEY, KANNA!" Riko shouted, a grim shadow falling across her face as she forced her way to the front. "I WANNA TALK TO YOuuuuuu..."

Her voice fell silent as she caught view of the popular girl, but her thoughts did not. _That pure, silky white hair!_ She squealed to herself. _Those clear gray eyes, so trusting and kind! That adorable little bow!_ Riko began to nod subconsciously. _She's PERFECT!_

As she considered this, however, Kanna sat stock still, visibly shaken by the dragoness's forceful introduction. She remained silent for a long moment.

And then she began to cry.

***End of Chapter 11***

A/N: Today is Sunday, right...?

...Yeah, let's all just call this "Sunday", okay?

Please?


	12. Chapter 12: Tohru and Joui

Chapter 12: Tohru and Joui

A/N:

I...

**I...**

**I LIVE!**

Hello everyone, sorry for being gone for so long; sickness, business, sleep deprivation, education, participation, all of it sucks the life out of you. I've been distracted and busy, and I'm sorry for not updating like I should.

Also, to answer a question in the reviews, yes, I did change Kanna's eye color! In the manga (according to the cover of Vol. 2, anyway), she had pinkish eyes, and in the anime, she had more bluish eyes. In this, she has gray (I typically spell it 'grey' even though I'm an American) eyes. It's largely a small change, and I know I had a good reason for it when I did it originally, but I've... kinda forgot why I did. I think it was to make her more distinct from her "dragon" version? Ah, well; it's set in stone by belligerence and a sense of internal consistency now.

...

Riko stood before the crying Kanna, completely blindsided by this turn of events. As the young dragoness remained still and silent, whispering began to take root in the class.

"Wow! The new girl just went straight up to Kanna like that!"

"Yeah... what is she trying to do, anyway? Is she bullying poor Kanna?"

"What is that Riko girl thinking, being so mean to Kanna!?"

Beginning to tremble as she heard the rumors being thrown around, Riko threw her hands up with a flustered expression as she cried, "No! It's not like that! This isn't what was supposed to happen! I didn't..." Pausing to glance at the crying girl, she continued, "I just wanted to be friends! Seriously! I'm sorry for making you cry! I..."

The young dragoness ground to a halt, realizing that she wouldn't be able to calm the girl down quite that easily. More drastic maneuvers would be necessary. Luckily, she recalled a small spell Meisuke had taught her once when she had grown tired of Riko complaining about being bored.

A small greenish-white light beginning to flow into her clenched right hand as she reached into her pocket. With a smile, she offered, "I'll give you some candy, so please stop crying, okay...?"

...

"...and then the teacher walked up and got mad at me for having candy in class!" Riko concluded.

Meisuke scratched her chin, considering the younger dragoness's report of the day as she walked her home from school. "Y'know, I'm surprised you didn't just blast all those classmates and that Kanna girl away." She said, offering a sardonic smile. "That seems a bit more your M.O."

Wrinkling up her face at this comment, Riko replied, "Well, I could've, but..." Her expression shifting from vexed to perplexed, she continued, "...I didn't _want_ to. I didn't think I'd ever like a human, but... I liked Kanna."

"You liked Kanna, huh...?" The older dragoness repeated, a bit taken aback. "I didn't think you'd ever find any human you liked either... I wonder if that's why you took an interest in them in the first place? Because you were curious if there were any you _could_ like?"

Riko cocked her head in confusion, asking, "What do you mean, 'I took an interest'? It wasn't until you and Miss Tohru asked about school that I said I wanted to go!"

With a shrug, Meisuke replied, "Only because you were looking at the school kids when they walked by. So why do you think you even watched?"

The young dragoness glanced down in thought, uncertainty covering her face as she answered, "It's because they were there, I guess...? I was bored, and they were interesting. I guess I stuck with everything today because it _was_ interesting."

Meisuke cocked an eyebrow, saying, "Maybe it is _now_, but it won't always be. Are you going to stick with it? Even when it gets boring?"

After a moment of consideration, Riko nodded. "Yeah," she answered, "I think I will."

"Oh ho," Meisuke said, a small, knowing smile taking shape, "So you're willing to put up with the humans? Even if you don't have to? In other words, you're choosing to _accept_ them when you could ignore or hate them?"

With another nod, a smaller one than the first, Riko answered in a quiet voice, "I don't _want_ to hate them... I don't know why, but ever since I first really met Miss Tohru..." Pausing for a moment to find the right words, Riko said, "Ever since then, I haven't wanted to hate humans. Now that I think about, even today... Even in class, all I wanted was for my classmates to look at me... To notice me... I wanted to be acknowledged, even if I didn't need them to... even if it was just a lowly bunch of humans..." After yet another long pause, Riko concluded, "I wanted to be embraced by the humans. I didn't need it, but somehow it felt _way_ more important than getting something I needed."

"You want something more than the things you need, huh?" Meisuke mused, considering her time with Tohru. "Yeah, I guess I can understand the feeling, even if only a bit. I'd rather go a year without food, water, or even alcohol than go a _week_ without seeing her." With a sigh, she added, "I'd say a day, but that's just not realistic. I'd only be setting both of us up for heartbreak."

"Who cares?"

Meisuke blinked in surprise, turning to Riko as she said, "Riko, did you just...?" before trailing off.

Riko was doggedly looking any direction Meisuke wasn't in, a crimson blush on her face as she repeated, "Who cares if it's not realistic? Who cares if you're not sure you'll be able to see her every day?" Turning to the older dragoness, she continued, "It might not be true that you'll be able to see Tohru every day, but... I won't be able to stay interested and accept the humans all the time, right?" Glancing away again, Riko added, "Even if we won't be able to always do what we say, as long as we believe it when we say it, it won't be a lie, right?"

Caught off guard by the younger dragoness's conviction, Meisuke couldn't help but nod as she replied, "Yeah, I guess you're right." With a smile, she mentally added, _Now that's not something you would have said before meeting Miss Tohru, huh?_

...

"So, how'd it go?" Tohru asked as she opened the door, allowing the two dragons to re-enter the apartment.

Cocking a cynical eyebrow at the young woman, Meisuke asked, "Were you just waiting for us behind the door?"

"Wha!?" The young woman exclaimed, flinching as a bright blush overtook her features before she sheepishly glanced away. "Er... that is... I mean..." Turning even further, she mumbled, "...maybe, but I was excited to see how it went..."

Meisuke began to smile and began to reply before being cut off as Riko launched herself through the door, nearly bowling Tohru over. With a smile, the younger dragoness latched on to Tohru as she declared, "Miss Tohru! I went through a full day of school and caused no harm to anyone, even though it was just a bunch of insignificant humans! Rewaaard meee!"

A firm glare and a swift chop from Meisuke dislodged Riko from the young woman, and as Riko rubbed the spot she was hit with a whine of protest, the older dragoness said, "What was all that stuff about not wanting to hate humans, huh!? Besides, you wanted to got to school anyway, so it's not like you should be rewarded for doing what you want!"

Grinning awkwardly at the pair's antics before sheepishly scratching at her cheek, Tohru said, "Well, actually, I did get you a little something, if you want it..."

Blinking in surprise, the dragonesses uttered a simultaneous, "Really?"

...

Riko sat on the couch, her eyes sparkling and her mouth hanging open at what Tohru had placed in her hands. After a moment of speechless marveling, she finally found her voice well enough to ask, "It's-! But how did you...?"

Tohru glanced away, a blush and a smile filling her face as she answered, "Well... when we were at the store, I saw that you wanted it, but... Well, I was proud you held yourself back, so I... That is, you see..." She trailed off, staring at the ground in embarrassment.

The young dragoness began to copy Tohru's blush, remaining silent for another moment before finally answering, "Well... thank you... Miss Tohru..."

Sitting back and watching the display, Meisuke couldn't help but note as she sipped her beer that Riko really _was_ growing a bit more mature, even if she didn't notice it.

...

With a grunt of displeasure, Meisuke dropped the television remote onto the coffee table. _Ever since Riko started going to school, I haven't really had much to do, _she thought. _I figured that things would go back to the way it was before she even got here, but Tohru's been a lot neater lately-probably to keep Riko from picking up her bad habits-so aside from cooking and a bit of light housework, there's not really much I need to do, huh... _With a sigh, she stood up and began to think, _I wonder what Tohru's up to... She should be home soon, right?_

She crossed her legs as she considered all this, but in doing so, she knocked the remote off the coffee table and, after a short tumble, under the couch. With a shrug, she reached under to retrieve it. As she did so, however, her fingers brushed against something rough. The dragoness cocked her eyebrow in surprise and curiosity before reaching under a bit further, pulling out the remote and a small, wooden basket. "Huh..." she muttered, making a mental note to clean under the couch more often. "I wonder what we have here?"

Before she could open it, however, she heard the door fly open and then slam shut, followed by a cacophony of locks being shut. Shoving the basket once more under the couch, she rose to go investigate.

...

"So... what exactly is going on here?" Meisuke asked.

Tohru groaned in response, forcing the whole of her weight against the door as she replied, "It's a long story, alright!? Just _please_ help me right now!"

With another shrug, Meisuke snapped her fingers and Tohru squealed before dropping to the floor as various chairs, the kitchen table, and the toaster flew across the room before neatly assembling into a barricade before the door. Cringing at her rough response, Meisuke muttered a small "Sorry for that." as she helped the young woman back to her feet.

Shaking her head, Tohru said, "Nah, I'm fine, so it's fine. Anyway, good save." She began to scratch her chin as she added, "I feel like I'm forgetting something, though."

"TOHRUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" A shriek pierced through the door. "HOW COULD YOU DO THIIIS!"

"Is that it?" Meisuke asked as she thumbed over her shoulder at the offending noise.

Tohru shook her head as she replied, "No, I remembered she was there... I feel like it's something a lot more important..."

"HEY! WEIRD LADY! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, SHOUTING OUTSIDE THE GREAT SAIKAWA RIKO'S HOME?!"

"WHA-? W-WEIRD... weird lady...?"

"Thaaat was it." She said with a snap of her fingers.

...

Meisuke closely observed as a stern young woman roughly Tohru's age sat on the apartment couch, taking note of her short, dark hair, deep blue eyes partially hidden behind a small pair of round glasses, and what was _probably_ an attractive figure-the maid uniform she was wearing made it difficult to precisely discern. The dragoness shot a quizzical glance at Tohru, who dramatically sighed with a slump in response. After taking a moment to collect herself, Tohru straightened up and cleared her throat.

"This," she began, "is my co-worker, Joui Elma. She's a stick-in-the mud who works in the same maid cafe as me."

Spluttering in protest, the woman in question replied, "S-s-stick in the mud!? You're only saying that because you're so _completely_ lackadaisical when it comes to your work! I had to chase you down without even having time to change out of uniform because _you_ couldn't be bothered to finish the dishes before leaving! And another thing!" Pausing to thrust an accusatory finger at Tohru, she continued, "We've been friends since high school, and all you can think to call me is your 'coworker'!? You're not just lazy; you're _cruel_!"

Heaving another dramatic sigh, Tohru explained, "When we were in high school, my parents forced me to join a club; I ended up picking the swim team because it sounded like it wouldn't be much work as long as you were only an alternate or something. Joui was mad at me for never 'giving it my all' and was always pushing me to try harder, and she started following me around afterwards. I haven't been able to get away from her since."

"Only because you never _do_ anything unless you're pushed, Tohru! Whenever you get put on kitchen duty or cooking, you act like it doesn't matter!" Elma complained. "Also, you even acknowledged that we've known each other for years! So call me by my _first name_, darn it!"

"Well of _course_ I act like it doesn't matter, because it _doesn't__!_ We're service workers; our job is to _serve our customers!_ You're just mad because I'm more popular with the customers, and that's because I'm _cuter!_" Tohru shot back before adding, "Also, _no! _Just because you decided you're my friend doesn't mean _I_ have to agree!"

"_Cuter!?_ Try _more flirtatious! _Just because I conduct myself with some decorum instead of acting like some sort of _bar __hostess_ doesn't make you _better!_"

Riko shook her head as she watched the display, saying, "Man, those guys get along like dogs and monkeys, huh?"

"Pick that up in school, Riko?" Meisuke asked, offering a thumbs-up. "Good work!"

Riko beamed in response before asking, "Y'know, they're starting to get really worked up... What d'you think'll happen if they really go at it?"

Before Meisuke could offer a response, a lull came in the fighting as a loud growl filled the room. All eyes quickly turned to Elma, who began awkwardly shifting in place as she mumbled, "Er... well, you see... I was kinda hungry, but I didn't get a chance to eat because I had to chase down Tohru, and..." She suddenly jumped in realization as she shouted, "W-wait! Why am I apologizing!? It's your fault I'm in this mess, so take responsibility!"

With a sigh, Meisuke said, "If you're all about taking responsibility, then maybe you should take that advice and apologize for just barging into our apartment." With a sigh, she added, "You don't seem like a bad person, and I understand why you're mad, but seriously, you're noisy..."

Elma flinched, beginning to tear up but remaining resolute as she said, "B-be that as it may, it's my responsibility to bring Tohru back to the store so she can fulfill _her_ responsibility to the dishes! I'll do whatever I have to to take you back!"

With a smirk, Tohru muttered, "If it's a fight you want, I'll give you a fight... I'll give you such a fight you've never even-!"

"HEY!" Meisuke shouted. "I don't want to have to deal with extra work... even if I was kinda bored. And you guys fighting like a couple of teenagers hopped up on _red bull_ is exactly the sort of thing that makes extra work for me!"

"Okay!" Tohru happily answered, turning to Elma as she said, "I have a better idea, then. I know you're still in practice, and there's a public pool about three blocks from here... How about we go get suited up and then head down to the pool?"

Blinking in surprise, Elma said, "Okay, but..." As she trailed off, she couldn't help but think, _Tohru was always so headstrong and lazy, but she still listened to whatever this lady says! And I've known Tohru for _years,_ but I've never even met her! Who is she?_

"Well? What is it?" Tohru asked, a sour expression on her face as she watched Elma's dawdling.

The young woman in question shook her head, saying, "It's nothing, nevermind. Anyway," pausing to dramatically point at Tohru, she concluded, "I accept your challenge! In half an hour, I will meet you there; then, our competition will start!" With this said, she turned, rushing out of the apartment with a determined expression on her face.

Nodding once, Tohru locked the door and then returned to the living room before plopping down onto the couch, stretching as she picked a book at random off the nearby coffee table and began to read.

Meisuke blinked once, realization hitting her as she asked, "So you have no intention of going to compete against her, do you?"

Letting out a long, luxurious sigh, the young woman replied, "Of cooourse not! Work at the cafe was reeeally stressful today, so I just want to relax. If she wants to compete so badly, she can compete against herself. I have the day off tomorrow, so I plan to spend as much of tonight as I can doing _nothing_."

"So that pool you mentioned...?" Meisuke asked, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Oh, that?" Tohru replied with a dainty smile. "It doesn't exist... but looking for it _will_ keep Joui occupied for a while!"

"Figured as much." Meisuke said, rooting through the fridge as she began to make dinner.

***End of Chapter 12***

A/N: Y'know, it's weird; originally, I planned to do Chapter 14 of the manga, but then I realized that in order to do that I'd need to find someone to be the sh*censored for the censors*tty manager, and I was trying to find a dragon character to fit the bill but then I thought "hey, shouldn't that be Elma?" so I looked at that before thinking "yeah, but if that's the case, shouldn't I do chapter 24...?" and it sort of morphed into that. Weird, right? Elma's really hard to write in this, y'know; she has no clear human counterpart, so it's difficult to figure out where exactly I should put things!

Also, something I've been wondering lately. I was looking through the fanfics I'm writing and my list of ideas for fanfics I'd _like_ to write, and I can't help but wonder... do people think I'm just a pure yuri writer? I wouldn't _mind_ that, necessarily, but I feel like that makes me out as creatively limited. Plus, I don't _just_ ship yuri, y'know! I ship things like Fafnir x Takiya, Cyborg 007 x Cyborg 006, Bakugou x Kirishima, Jirou x Kaminari, Tanya x Rerugen, Reiji x Hamura, LLENN x P-chan, those two dudes from Citrus who got roped into Matsuri's plot and only appeared in like one scene x each other... I have depth! Versatility! Diverse interests!

...doesn't mean I intend to stop writing Yuri, though. Probably gonna write something for Kill Me Baby after the day in the _far_ distant future when I finish one of these things...


	13. Chapter 13: Meisuke and Joui

Chapter 13: Meisuke and Joui

The Kobayashi household sat around their kitchen table, enjoying the udon Meisuke had prepared for lunch that day and desperately trying to ignore the muffled pounding and screaming coming from the other side of their front door.

"Y'know," Meisuke said, glancing at Tohru with tired, strained eyes, "Your solution wasn't particularly permanent."

With a moan that rested somewhere between a sigh and a yawn, the young woman replied, "Sure, I've known Joui for years, but I didn't know she was _this_ stubborn! She would normally go home after she realized that there weren't any pools around here!"

Riko glared at the door with daggers in her eyes as she said, "Most people would have gone home after the _first_ four hours of banging on the door! What is _wrong_ with this lady!?"

A moment of relative silence passed before Meisuke finally stood up and declared, "I'm going to let her in and then we're going to have a little chat."

"NO!" Tohru cried, rising to grab onto Meisuke's arm. "She's so _annoyyyyyinggggggg!_"

Her eye beginning to twitch slightly, the dragoness said, "_12 hours_, Tohru. She's been at this for **12 hours straight**. _None of us_ have slept since she came back last night!" Gesturing at the bowls of udon, she added, "I had to make this with _earmuffs on_. Do you know how hot your head gets when you're wearing warm clothing near a stove!? Anyone but a dragon would've passed out from _heat stroke_. If we don't resolve this peaceably _now_, I'm going to resolve it _violently_ soon."

Tohru perked up at this and she smiled once more as she began to speak before being cut off by Meisuke.

"I am _not_ going to 'Sky Laser' her just because she's annoying, Miss Tohru. No matter _how_ annoying she is."

Beginning to pout, Tohru turned away as she crossed her arms.

...

"Toooohruuuuu!" Elma whined, tears in her eyes as Meisuke sat her down on the couch. "You lied to me! Agaaaaain!"

With a roll of her eyes, Tohru said, "It's your own fault for trying to mess with my quiet, relaxed evening. A normal person would have realized that there weren't any pools near my house after taking five seconds to do an internet search. Heck, most people would have whipped their phones out and searched it the second I brought the thing up."

"Well, yeah, but..." Elma mumbled, tears still falling freely, "...it would have been rude to doubt you, and to lack courtesy is to act in bad faith..." With a shake of her head, she stood up her head and wiped her tears from her eyes as she declared, "But that's enough! You're coming back with me to clean up all the dishes you left!"

Tohru blinked in surprise before asking, "Wait... you realize there's _no_ chance there are any dishes left from last night, right? They definitely had someone else clean them before closing up. You're trying to force me to clean up after a mess that doesn't exist anymore."

Swaying unsteadily for a moment, Elma lifted a shaky finger and replied, "That is... irrelevant, because... they probably have more-" Before she could finish her statement, however, she was cut off by the growling of her stomach. She collapsed to the floor, barely managing to raise her head as she concluded, "There's more... that you could... do..."

Pushing past Tohru to stand before the fallen woman, Meisuke rubbed her neck as she said, "Geez, you really haven't had anything to eat in ages, have you? I can't really say I'm _impressed_ by your dedication, exactly, but I have to admit I'm surprised you managed to stand up straight for as long as you did. Doesn't mean you can forget about taking care of yourself, though." She started to pat Elma's head before adding, "Come have some lunch with us. I can't do much about the sleep thing, but I can at least give you _something_ to eat."

Elma began to push herself into a kneeling position, wavering before finally saying, "Right now I have to focus on bringing Tohru back!" As she glanced away, however, she muttered, "But if you have something small, it wouldn't be bad, I guess... just a little is enough, though..."

With a knowing grin, the dragoness went to the kitchen before returning with a small roll of bread. As she did so, however, Tohru began to pout, griping, "Hey! You can't _feed_ her! She's the enemy here!"

Rolling her eyes as she handed Elma the bread, Meisuke replied, "It's only some bread; not like I gave her a sword or rope or something she can cause trouble with. Plus, if you look at something so pitiful and yet feel nothing, doesn't that make you empty inside?" Her smug grin returning as Tohru turned away with a guilty blush, she amended, "Oh, but that's just my opinion, of course."

Shifting in place with discomfort as she accepted the bread, Elma glanced around with guilty eyes before digging in. As the first few crumbs lit upon her tongue, however, the guilt became delight, and she tore it apart until not even those crumbs were left. Blinking in surprise at her own enthusiasm, the young woman couldn't help but ask, "What... just what was in that bread?"

With a knowing grin, Meisuke answered, "It's regular sugar bread, but it tastes a lot better when it's homemade, huh?"

Heartily nodding in agreement, Elma rose to her feet with a confident smile. "With this inside me, I'll surely be able to defeat Tohru and bring her home!"

"Ooooor," Tohru said as she walked over with a tray of piping hot loaves, "You could take all of these, go home, and let the rest of us go have a decent nap."

"..."

...

"Goodbye!" Elma called out as she rushed down the hallway, a ziplock bag full of bread in her hands. "Don't forget to do the dishes next time, Tohru!"

"Yeah, yeah," The woman in question replied as she waved off the busybody, "whatever. Just don't come back, okay?"

...

A knocking at the door disrupted the peace of the Kobayashi apartment, commanding the attention of its caretaker. Rising from her seat on the couch and laying her magazine to the side, she muttered, "It's too early for Miss Tohru or Riko to be home, that coworker of hers hasn't come back in a few days now, and I don't think any packages are due today." Walking to check the door, she couldn't help but wonder who had come calling.

Makoto was the last person she had expected.

"Hey there, Meisuke!" The dragon greeted, smiling sheepishly at the dumbfounded housekeeper. "Sorry for dropping in without calling first. I wasn't planning to stop yet, but... well, my schedule opened up pretty unexpectedly."

Meisuke blinked in confusion before fully opening the door and ushering him into the apartment before saying, "Come have a seat and fill me in."

...

Pinching the bridge of her nose and screwing her eyes shut to assuage the fierce headache their conversation had spawned, Meisuke said, "Let me get this straight... so that sea monster that they kept ranting on the news, that was you?"

With a polite nod, Makoto replied, "Yep! I have to admit, the police were a surprise; who knew that tourists knew the Japanese emergency number?" Sheepishly scratching his cheek as he glanced away, the dragon muttered, "Those 'JSDF' people were even more of a surprise..."

Meisuke cringed at this before asking, "Why even do all this?"

"To find a home in the human world, of course!" He answered with a smile. "Whenever you talk about living here, it sounds like so much fun! How could I listen to that without wanting to try it out for myself?"

The dragoness cocked a suspicious eyebrow at this, asking, "And how much research have you done, Mr. Enthusiastic?"

"None at all!" Makoto replied without missing a beat.

"That's what I thought." Meisuke muttered before rising to her feet. "Come on, Makoto; we're going on a walk."

...

Makoto blinked in confusion, staring at the unassuming storefront before him as though waiting for it to do something. After allowing it to spend a full minute disappointing him, the dragon finally turned to Meisuke and asked, "And this place will help me find a home?"

"Sure," Meisuke replied, cocking her eyebrow as she said, "If you have your legal documents in order and money to pay for it." Allowing her head to droop with a sigh, she concluded, "...and I'm sure you don't have either."

With a shake of his head and a clueless smile, Makoto said, "Nope! I don't know what those are at all, so I probably don't have either!"

"Of cooourse not..." The dragoness hissed with a small, irritated flick of her forked tongue. Taking a moment to collect herself as she pinched the bridge of her nose, she adjusted her glasses before asking, "You didn't do _any_ research before coming here, you've been stumbling around carelessly since you arrived, and you act like you have no idea where you want to go from here..." She paused to glare suspiciously at Makoto before saying, "Y'know, for someone who came here because it 'looked like fun', you've been pretty lacking in the 'looking into it' department..."

Smiling awkwardly as he clapped his hands together in supplication, he replied, "Sorry, Meisuke, but I wasn't exactly telling the truth when I said that." His smile losing any pretense of discomfort as it shifted to a shameless grin, he said, "Honestly, I did this because of... well, because of you, I guess."

"Do tell." The dragoness replied, crossing her arms in impatience. "And try to keep stick to the truth this time; it's hard to help someone who can't help themselves or help lying to those who can."

A noncommittal shrug was all Makoto offered to her hostility, choosing instead to address the irritant dragoness's question as he said, "Well, ever since you got here, you've gotten a lot more... open, I guess." Noticing Meisuke's sharp glare at this, he stuck his tongue out at her before continuing, "C'mon, you know how you were back home; it wasn't so much that you actively _avoided_ others or broke the rules, it's more that you... couldn't be bothered." Pausing for a brief chuckle, the dragon continued, "Seriously, it didn't matter what rules you broke or who you annoyed if it got you just one inch closer to whatever goal or knowledge you were going for. I mean, you _were_ a part of the chaos faction, but that was more about your whole 'I do what I want' thing than agreeing with their ideas." His face fell for a moment and his eyes grew distant as he added, "Of course, there was nothing that could stop you... even if it meant, say..."

"Killing humans." Meisuke supplied with crossed arms.

"Yes, that." He answered. His grin lost its humor as he said, "In our old world, you did anything you felt you had to do and pushed everyone away. The only people who stuck with you were the ones who demanded nothing, and that always suited you perfectly. Here, though, ever since meeting Tohru, you've been... different." Finally the last vestige of humor fell from his face and a soft, open countenance took its place as Makoto said, "Ever since meeting Tohru, you've been seeking to connect with others. Instead of just crashing around and doing what you wanted, you care about what others think. Trouble used to trail you, but now you actively hold it at bay; now, you protect others from it. Cooperation and compassion have replaced the cold you once held in your heart, and I think Tohru the cause." Glancing away from Meisuke, Makoto concluded, "...but humans don't live forever... and when she's gone, will you go back? In the world we came from, will you be who you once were?"

Meisuke pondered this for a moment before finally offering a shrug as she said, "Who knows...? Maybe I would, maybe I wouldn't. But that's not going to matter anyway." Taking a moment to stretch, pushing her arms into the heavens as far as they could go, she continued, "Miss Tohru isn't forever. I knew that since first meeting her. But I'm not going back to our world ever again. Sure, one of these days she'll leave, and I'll be sad, but... that sadness isn't the end. Not for her, and not for me; as long as I'm alive, I'll remember her... and as long as I remember her, that memory will be proof that she existed. I never _could_ go back to our world after that, because it wouldn't be the same place anymore. What was it before I left? No idea, and I don't care to make one up. But I do know what it would be now: a world in which Tohru doesn't exist." Offering a small, certain smile, the dragoness concluded, "I could never act like that in a world where Tohru doesn't exist because all the little humans would remind me of her."

Reflecting on this for a few moments, Makoto began to nod as he said, "Well, it's decided, then."

"What is?" Meisuke asked, blinking in confusion at this sudden declaration.

With a smile, the dragon explained, "Before, I was really just here to keep an eye on you and see how you changed, but after hearing that... now, I _really_ want to stay in this world! I want to see what humans are like if the efforts of just _one_ was able to change you this much!" His nodding growing in fervor, he declared, "There's no way I could stand on the sidelines; I have to live with a human in this world!"

Meisuke paused for a deep breath, releasing it with a sigh as she began, "Sure, you can say that, but that doesn't mean some random human is ready to just ta-"

The dragoness ground to halt, rubbing her chin as she said, "Actually... now that I think about it, there might just be one you could get along with..."

...

"Yes, what do you..." Takeshi began as he cracked the door to his home open, trailing off as the single eye he allowed to peek through lit upon the pair waiting outside.

"Meisuke? And... yes, Takiya, wasn't it?" The dark man asked, pulling the door open inch by laborious inch before his confused expression could be just barely made out. "What has brought you to my doorstep at so early an hour?"

With a soft sigh and a few second thoughts, Meisuke replied, "It's actually about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, you know..." Shaking her head as she pushed her reservations aside, the dragoness continued, "Anyway, sorry that it's kind of sudden, but... well, Makoto here was thinking about staying here in the human world for a bit, and he didn't have a place to stay, so..." Pausing to form an awkward half-smile, she asked, "Is it alright if he lives here?"

Takeshi turned his glare to the dragon in question and began to look him up and down, the man's gaze lingering for half a moment on Makoto's horns. Finally turning away with a sound somewhere between a grunt and a groan, Takeshi muttered, "It is agreeable. Somewhat."

Blinking in surprise, Meisuke asked, "Wait, really? Just like that? Not even a bit of pushback?"

Nodding with a vague indifference as he fully opened the door to his home, the dark man said, "Loath as I am to concede Tohru was correct about this monster fad, I cannot deny that the man before me has all of the traits I value in a true butler. Knowing this, there is no method by which I could deny him such a request. He is welcome in my home."

With a smile and a nod, Makoto said, "I will be in your care from now on." Pausing to bow, the dragon followed as Takeshi led into the house.

For a moment, Meisuke tottered at the door, worried about whether or not this arrangement would work. As she did so, however, she heard voices float back down the hall.

"Ah, by the way, the game we played at the party..."

"Hm? Would you be referring to _Whispering Spirits_?"

"I... guess? I think so, anyway. Are there anymore like it?

"Oh yes... Many more." This final statement was followed by a malevolent cackle.

Deciding that this was her cue to leave, Meisuke couldn't help but think as she sped away that maybe these two ought to be together after all.

***End of Chapter 13***


	14. Chapter 14: Meisuke and Fanservice

Chapter 14: Meisuke and Fanservice

AN: Y'know, I wasn't really sure how I wanted to do this chapter or if I even wanted to do it at all! For a little bit I did consider skipping it and moving on to the next chapter, but in the end, I decided that just wasn't all that great an option either. It's tough to do proper fanservice with words when it's normally done with pictures and I'm not precisely inclined to do it, but... make do, I guess...?

...

"Aaaaah! The beach!" Tohru enthused as she threw her hands to the sky. She gleefully spun on the sand, causing the frills on her skimpy pink swimsuit to ripple as she said, "You just can't get more summery than this, huh, Meisuke?"

"Yeeeeeeahhhhhhh..." The dragoness muttered, a heavy pall clinging to her as her as what little light in her eyes dulled before fading away. "Nothing like sitting in the bright hot sun for hours at a time so you can splash in a slimy, salty outdoor pool." Drooping with a heavy sigh, she asked, "So I had to be here, dealing with the crowds and the humidity doing something useful because...?"

Sticking her tongue out at Meisuke and her general lack of enthusiasm, Tohru fumed, "Because it's fuuun being here, playing in the ocean, making sand castles, splitting watermelons... Y'know, just doing summery things! Plus, since Riko's on her school break and I got the day off, it would be a waste to just spend it all cooped up inside!"

"Exactly!" The arrogant little dragon in question affirmed, folding her arms confidently as she said, "If we're going to live in this world, we need to try all of its traditions-especially the fun ones!" With a grin that oozed smugness, she added, "I bet I could beat anyone here in a race! How about I go challenge those big humans over there right now!?"

A swift chop from Meisuke brought this train thought to a screeching halt, eliciting a whimpering complaint. This too was stopped short with a sharp glare from Meisuke before the elder dragoness turned to Tohru with an eyebrow cocked in confusion as she asked, "Why are you so gung-ho about this summer stuff, anyway? I always thought that you'd be the type to stay home and watch anime or play video games or something during school break."

Blushing fiercely at Meisuke's suggestion, the younger woman stuttered out, "I-I'm not some kind of shut-in NEET or something!" Glancing away as her cheeks only reddened further, she said, "I mean... I was kind of like that as a kid, but when I was in high school I kept on getting dragged to stuff like this by Joui... After a while I just sort of stopped hating it and realized I actually kinda liked going to the beach..." Shaking her head with a clap of her cheeks, she continued, "Anyway, after that I started going to the beach every once in a while." A dark shadow fell over her face as she added, "...But whenever I go by myself, I always get hit on by a bunch of creeps..."

The dragoness nodded sagely as she said, "Yep, that makes sense. Plus, it explains why you had to drag us along for the ride." With a smirk, she continued, "Honestly, Tohru, you should-"

"OH _WHATEVER!_" Riko shouted, cutting into Meisuke's statement as she began to pout, saying, "We're at the beach already, so when are we gonna go swim, huh!? I wanna _swiiim!_"

Meisuke sighed before waving Riko off, saying, "Alright, alright, you can go ahead." Raising her finger with a stern air, she added, "Just remember: make sure you stay at a human level. We don't want to have to explain why a child is swimming like an Olympian athlete... or god, for that matter. Oh, and don't try to go too deep; everyone would make such a fuss about saving you that they'd just put themselves in danger."

"You worry too much, Big Sis!" The younger dragoness retorted before rushing off to the sea, adding, "I mean, c'mon! Who'd be dumb enough to rush right into the deepest part of the ocean!?"

Noticing Tohru visibly twitch at this comment but deciding it would be wisest not to investigate, Meisuke turned to the young woman and instead asked, "So... you didn't come here when you were a kid? Like, at all?"

Shrugging at the question, Tohru said, "Well, it's not that I didn't go _at all_-my parents would drag me out here every year or two-but I didn't really enjoy it until I started hanging out with the swim team."

"Your family, huh...?" Meisuke mumbled, her gaze settling onto something far, far away. After a moment she waved her hand as though casting away strange thoughts before asking, "Say, Tohru... what's your family like, anyway?"

"Huh?" The young woman said, caught off guard by the question. "Where'd that come from?"

Waving her hand yet again, the dragoness said, "Ah, it's nothing, you don't have to answer that, I was just-"

"No, no, it's fine!" Tohru said, cutting of her friend's disheartened ramblings. Turning the question over in her mind for a few moments, Tohru eventually replied, "Well... they're normal, I guess. I mean, they care a lot, and they're really supportive-they're even helping me pay for my apartment and everything!-but... I think they want more from me, y'know? They want what's best for me, and they're worried that with the way I've been drifting along through life I won't ever enter the 'real world', but..." pausing to sigh, she concluded, "...I'm already there, y'know? Maybe I'm being too rudderless in the way I live, but they still support me even if they don't agree with me!" Pausing to reconsider her words, she eventually declared, "I guess you could say I have a good family, though I want to think that's normal anyway."

_So that's just the way humans are, huh...?_ Meisuke mused. _I guess that's just Tohru's way of looking at it, but... if humans were truly terrible, they couldn't have produced a person like Miss Tohru, could they?_ Her mind drifted back a thousand years, and words of hate spoken against humankind resurfaced, words that indicted them as a species of weaklings and cowards who, had they the strength, would be as great and terrible as any dragon on the face of the world. Yet again she doubted these words, but before she could think too deeply on them, Tohru's voice called her back from the void.

"...like, Meisuke?" The young woman asked, interest begin to sparkle in her eyes.

Pinching her nose for a second to ease the slight headache her memories had bidden forth, Meisuke said, "Sorry, I was distracted for a second there. What'd you ask?"

"I wanted to know what your family was like, too!" Tohru replied, a bright smile on her face.

Cringing at the question, Meisuke muttered, "Well... erm... I don't have any."

Tohru visibly deflated, saying, "oh... uhm... oh..."

"Yeah..." The dragoness agreed, "It's nothing that important, I just... wanted to know what it's like, I guess..."

Casting her gaze around for something-anything-to distract the listless Meisuke, Tohru's eyes settled onto a nearby cafe. The beginnings of a smile took form on her lips as she said, "Hey, Meisuke..."

Blinking out of her reverie with a small nod of assent, Meisuke said, "What is it?"

Smiling broadly, Tohru asked, "Wanna go inside for a bit, get out of the heat and maybe get something cold?"

A moment of surprised silence from Meisuke was followed by another nod as she replied, "Yeah, that sounds... good. Let's just grab Riko first."

"Alright!" Tohru cheered, "She was right by the shore a second ago, so it shouldn't be... Was that massive wave heading this way there before?"

"...No." Meisuke replied, pinching the bridge of her nose once more. "No it was not."

...

The trio sighed in unified pleasure, each taking a moment to appreciate their chosen frozen treat in the air-conditioned store.

"It's kinda strange, actually," Meisuke said, "it's not that dragons have to worry that much about temperature, but… it's kind of nice to relax inside without all that heat beating down on you."

"So dragons don't have any, like… cooling spells or something?" Tohru asked, absentmindedly nibbling on her popsicle before stopping short, a shiver running through her as she clutched her head in pain and began to moan about her teeth.

With an amused smile and a shrug, the dragoness replied, "Eh, not really. Most dragons just use their magic when it's convenient or necessary and don't think too much about comfort. Luxury's kind of a foreign concept to us-unless you count gathering treasure and sleeping on it, which I don't." Sticking her tongue out as she furrowed her brow in disgust, she concluded, "Gold's all hard and sharp, ancient artifacts have a 50/50 shot of being horrendously cursed, and don't even get me _started_ on jewelry."

"That's just 'cause you're weird!" Riko declared, jabbing a finger at her elder with a smug grin. "You don't get the greatness that is sleeping on a ton of cash and valuable junk, knowing that you're sleeping on a bed worth more than some miserable human will make in their life!"

Meisuke leaned back into her chair with a slight chuckle, waving Riko off as she said, "Yeah, yeah, I'm sure it is. But until I start to feel something like that, I'll stick with cotton beds and a/c."

Watching all of this with a small, contented grin, Tohru considered her earlier conversation with the dragoness. After taking a moment to gather her courage, the young woman asked, "Meisuke… you really don't have any parents…?"

Taken aback by the unexpected question, Meisuke spent a long, silent moment before offering a small nod, saying, "Yeah… my parents disappeared before I was old enough to remember anything. Instead, I was raised by an old stubborn drake who told me my parents were slaughtered by a couple of humans." Pausing for a chuckle, she continued, "Honestly, I think he just told me that because he didn't want me to think I was just abandoned by my parents… well, that and because he'd gladly take any opportunity to express his hatred for humans. I'd introduce you to him sometime, but he would _probably_ kill you." She sighed before resting her chin in her hand, taking a pensive lick from her popsicle as she mused, "Honestly, I think he's just worried for me more than anything… He taught me everything I know about magic, and I _want_ to go see him sometimes, but… I don't know…" Sighing again, she concluded, "That's just how family is, I guess. You don't agree with them all the time, but they still keep respecting you and caring about you anyway."

"Wow…" Tohru muttered, slowly leaning back into her chair as she digested Meisuke's story. "I guess that's how it is, huh… but, well, it means you've grown up, right?"

"Grown up?" Meisuke repeated, tilting her head in confusion.

"Yeah!" The young woman asserted, nodding fervently as she continued, "You're old enough to know that not everything you were told as a kid was right but can still get why he told you what he did and still love him anyway!" Tilting her head as she considered this, she added, "I don't really know if I'm the best example of a 'grown-up', but… everyone can choose to turn into an adult, and learning how to do that without hating the people who messed up around you is what shows what you chose, right?"

A long pause hung in the air before Meisuke began to nod, smiling as she said, "Yeah, I guess you're right."

...

"Hey, I got something weird at the market today," Meisuke said as she entered the apartment, arms laden with groceries. She paused to turn and close the door behind her before adding, "I don't really care one way or another, but... I figured you guys might want to play with it, so..."

As she turned once more to remove her shoes, however, she found herself face-to-face with an ecstatic Tohru and Riko, their faces shining brightly with interest and excitement as they began to paw at Meisuke's bags. For a moment she desperately tried to fend the childish pair off before finally reaching into her bags and removing a small square box, the words _Dragon's Breath_ written on the side in dramatic, bright red font.

"Fireworks!?" Tohru enthused with equal measures surprise and delight, taking the box and passing it to Riko. "It's been years since I've played with these things! And these look like good ones!"

Enthusiasm changing to confusion as she examined the box, the younger dragoness asked, "Fireworks? What're those?"

Tilting her head in confusion, Tohru asked, "Huh? None of your friends from school said anything about fireworks?"

"Yeah," Meisuke chimed in, "didn't you learn about them when you were doing all your research? Or did that get missed too…?"

A bright blush rose to Riko's cheeks as she began to frantically wave her arms, saying, "I-it's not like I'm missing stuff! It's just that I forget it sometimes, okay!? Plus, anything I'm missing'll just get filled in by school anyway!"

"Sure, sure, whatever," Meisuke said, waving the child off with a smug grin. "Anyway, fireworks are like… eh, they're like our fire breath turned into balls that expand, I guess? A lot of people say it's like flowers of fire in the sky, and it's _kinda_ right, but they're kinda loud and bright for flowers… and you don't set flowers on fire to make them bloom."

"Wow!" Riko said, smiling in delight as she imagined this spectacle. "C'mon! Let's go light it up! This'll be great!"

Nodding in agreement, Tohru said, "Yeah! Let's do it; fireworks are what Summer's about, too!"

With a sigh, Meisuke said, "Alright, alright. Let me just put these groceries away before we head up to the roof."

"YAY!" The pair cheered in unison.

…

Meisuke stepped back from the firework, watching the sparks crawl along the fuse with wary eyes as Tohru and Riko danced in place. They began to squeak and squee, unable to contain their excitement. A moment passed and then another as inch by inch the fuse disappeared, leaving ash and a growing impatience. Finally, it went off, and anyone nearby would be treated to three different reactions as the oversized candle turned into a flowing pillar of sparkling fire.

A small smile took shape on the elder dragoness's face, unmoved by the pyrotechnic but still pleased by the effect. Meisuke glanced at the two next to her, her smile growing as she took in their reactions.

Bouncing from one foot to another as she looked on, there was very little to distinguish Tohru from a boisterous, oversized child. She cheered and laughed as she looked on, as though reliving the best of her past summers.

Riko was frozen in place, her face a shattered wreck of disillusionment and disgust. For a moment, she remained still and silent, incapable of comprehending what she had just witnessed. After a moment, she finally spoke.

"Is that IT!?" She cried, throwing her hands in exasperation at the offending device. "YOU CALL _THAT_ WEAK PIECE OF JUNK A 'FIREWORK'!? THE ONLY WORK HERE IS WHAT THE PEOPLE WHO HAD TO MARKET THIS CRAP DID! I COULD DO BETTER WITH HALF THE EFFORT, AND _MEISUKE_ COULD WIPE ALL MEMORY OF THIS THING FROM THE WHOLE WORLD!"

"Wait, really?" Tohru asked, taken aback both by Riko's outburst and the assertions she made. The young woman considered this for a moment before she began to nod unconsciously, saying, "Yeah, I guess that makes sense… you guys _did_ do all that crazy 'roughhousing' a while back… but… wait…" She fell silent for a moment before turning to Tohru, her eyes sparkling as she said, "Wait, so does that mean-"

"Yes, Miss Tohru," Meisuke replied with a long-suffering sigh. "Sky laser."

Tohru teared up, falling to her knees as she was overwhelmed with joy.

***End of Chapter 14***

A/N: ...as you've probably noticed, my method of 'making do' is by mostly neglecting fanservice.


	15. Chapter 15: Meisuke and Convention

Chapter 15: Meisuke and Convention

"Woah, this place is _packed!_" Meisuke exclaimed as she took in the convention hall and the throng shifting around it. "How does this place even _function?_ There must be thousands of people out here!"

Tohru nodded, a wide smile on her face as she replied, "Yep! Summer Commiket always gets otaku super excited!" Placing her chin in the crook of her hand with a wink, she added, "Fans from all over come just to check this place out, so scoring rare goods is a serious game to us!"

Shaking her head at the comment, Meisuke replied, "Setting the obvious contradiction of the phrase 'serious game' aside, with this many people I doubt one or two will really make a difference." The dragoness grimaced as she turned to the hall once more, saying, "I can already feel the heat from over here. Do we really need to get involved with something like this?"

"Of COURSE!" Tohru replied with her fists clenched tightly, her brow furrowing in determination, "Takeshi needed our help today; we can't just abandon him!" She paused, glancing away with a small blush on her face as she added, "Plus, he promised me a copy of his circle's book if we helped out, and I'm not giving up on that..."

Glancing at said book clutched in the young woman's hand-undoubtedly an early bribe-Tohru read aloud, "'_Grand Butler Fantasy: An Alternative Ribbon'_? What's any of that supposed to mean?"

Her eyes aglow with excitement, Tohru replied, "Oh, it's _great!_ It's an alternative take on the second _Grand Butler Fantasia_ movie that's a lot closer to the books but really ties in all the doujins they've sold at the other Commikets! See, in the light novels, Sakomoto tells Anji that he loves Sebastian in the kitchen during the Christmas party, but in the movie..."

The dragoness groaned as her fingers found their way to her temples. She suspected she would regret asking Tohru about her prize well after they found Takeshi's booth.

...

"Man, it seemed crazy from the outside, but actually _being_ in here is something else!" Meisuke exclaimed as they forged their way through the roiling mass of flesh and sweat formed by the barely contained crowds. "I haven't seen this much intensity and barely contained excitement since the 11th crusade! A hard shove and this crowd would probably storm the whole compound!"

Nodding in agreement, Tohru replied, "We've been waiting since last _Winter_ for this, so of _course_ we'd be freaking out! Pretty much the only reason the crowd's holding themselves back from bashing is the threat of getting kicked out!" For a moment, Tohru smiled considering this thought before her face fell into confusion and uncertainty as she wondered aloud, "Wait, 11th? Weren't there only... like... nine...?"

Her expression shifting to a sheepish, apologetic grin, Meisuke said, "Erm, different world, different history. Anyway, I'm starting to think it was better to leave Riko behind; she'd run off at the first chance she got and then get herself lost. And, knowing her, she'd act like she knew exactly where she was and would refuse to go with any of the staff to a lost child center."

"Yeah," Tohru muttered, reflecting on the contents of the book in her grip and its fellows all throughout the hall, "_That's_ why we needed to leave her at home..." _The worst part is that she wouldn't be shocked by it,_ she added to herself, _she would just tell all of her _classmates_ about it..._

She shuddered at this thought before taking Meisuke by the hand and leading them through the sea of humanity.

...

The all-too familiar sight of the back of Takeshi's head brought awkward smiles to the pair's face as the gloomy man in question declared, "I would like to formally extend the warmest of thanks for your assistance in this matter. Service is the greatest ideal to strive for, and surely there is no greater praise I can offer to you than the observation that you two truly exemplify everything the word was intended to convey."

"I-it's alright!" Tohru replied, her smile wavering as she offered a half-hearted wave. "You're one of my best friends, so it's not like we could just leave you hanging, right, Meisuke!?"

The dragoness nodded, thumbing to herself as she said, "Yeah. I mean, it kind of sucks that your friends got sick and are missing out on something like this, but at least we can keep it from sucking for you, right?" Pausing to look around for a moment, she continued, "though I kinda figured you would've asked for Makoto's help before coming to us."

Takeshi straightened up out of his bow to adjust his tie-the dark, somewhat imposing suit a welcome if unusual change to his typical messy getup-before saying, "Takiya has taken the laudable path of the independent, establishing himself as his own circle and offering his own works for public review while simultaneously opening his heart to the criticism of the public." His eyes hardened and a dark shadow crossed his face as Takeshi concluded, "Truly the path of true creation never did run smooth. He will encounter many hardships, some nigh insurmountable, in his quest for doujinshi triumph. I wish him the best and expect the worst, but his perseverance despite my warnings indicates he possesses the qualities necessary for the former to occur."

A vaguely aggrieved frown on her face, Meisuke deadpanned, "Kind of a cynical outlook to force on a first-timer, isn't that?" After a moment, however, the dragoness considered the gaunt man's statement and said, "Wait, really? Makoto's making this 'Doujinshi' stuff?"

"Indeed," Takeshi replied with a sage nod. "Upon arrival at my doorstep, he has demonstrated an insatiable thirst for otaku culture and products. Given a few years and I'm certain he'll be able to surpass even I in ability to consume subculturally relevant materials." For a second one could almost swear a lone tear seemed to drip from his eye before a blink banished it from his countenance. "I could not be prouder."

"Riiight," Meisuke said, deciding against making her thoughts on that particular subject known. "Anyway, what do need us to do?"

...

"Guh," Meisuke moaned, shifting a sign in her hands to wipe the sweat that had formed over the last... was it one hour or two? She had already lost track. _Man, I thought I had the mental fortitude of a 60 year old monk but I'm already starting to get worn down,_ the dragoness thought as she produced a water bottle from her pocket- and then, after glancing around to make sure no one was looking and casting a small spell, swapped it out for a can of beer. _Commiket is no joke._

"Erm, excuse me, Miss?"

Jolting in fear and dread, Meisuke slowly turned to her left and began to say, "This, eh, it isn't what it looks like...?" She offered a small smile, hoping this would be enough to dissuade this newcomer from inquiring further and knowing full well it would not.

She was greeted by the sight of a man holding an expensive camera in his hand and a confused expression on his face. Seeing that the dragoness had noticed him, the man said, "Hi there! I'm sorry for surprising you. You see, I'm a cosplay photographer, and I was hoping to get a picture if you weren't busy, but I guess I was just bothering you. Sorry about that."

With a glance up at her horns and a glance down at her fangs and suit, Meisuke breathed a small of relief as she discreetly tucked her drink into her pocket, thinking, _I guess it makes sense that someone would think that if they saw me at a place like this. It saves me an explanation, anyway._ Coughing to dismiss the awkward atmosphere that was quickly forming, she said, "It's no bother, really. I was just a bit... distracted. I'd be perfectly happy to get my picture taken."

The photographer offered a smile in return, saying, "Ah, great, thanks! I'll come by later when you're free, alright?"

"Alright," Meisuke replied, rather pleased with how the conversation had gone... and with the fact that as soon as the photographer left, she could return to her beer.

...

Meisuke allowed herself a stretch and a satisfied groan as she collapsed into a nearby bench beside Tohru, both worn out by the past few hours' efforts. "Honestly," the dragoness began, "I thought we would be busy, but this is _unreal!_ Sure there's some important stuff to these people in here, but it's crazy to think that fear of getting kicked out is all it's taking to keep this crowd in line!"

Giggling in agreement, Tohru replied, "Well, sure! I know I'd be crying my eyes out if I got banned before I could grab all the stuff I came for!"

A quiet, relaxed lull settled into their conversation before the butler fanatic shot up, saying, "Hey, I know! Let's go check on that friend of yours; I'm sure he'd be really happy to see us!" This said, she turned to rush off into the market, pausing only to turn over her shoulder at Meisuke.

The dragoness stood up with a sigh as she said, "Alright, alright, I guess it can't be helped. Let's go see how Makoto's doing."

"Yaaay!" Tohru cheered, taking her loyal friend's hand as she led them into the crowds.

...

"Hiya, guys!" Makoto enthused, seemingly completely unfazed by the total lack of any kind of line leading up to his table. "It's been a really nice day, hasn't it? I'm really glad Takeshi told me about this-I'm having a lot of fun!"

With a wary brow and a confused grimace, Meisuke noted, "That's a pretty bright smile for a ghost town like this, huh?"

Accepting this comment-and the offended slap Tohru delivered onto the dragoness's shoulder-Makoto replied, "Yep, seems that way, huh? I figure that it's pretty common for everyone to be ignored for the first time. I just have to prove that I'm worth everybody's time, and then humans'll start reading my stuff! I just have to stay patient."

Picking up a book of the dragon's table and beginning to flick through it, Tohru couldn't help but say, "Huh, this is pretty good for a first-timer. I'm kinda amazed you could do this well after just showing up. Did you do any drawing back in your world?"

"Nope," Makoto answered with a shake of his head. "Back in my world I would just sit on hoards of treasure in sleep. It's kind of a change to how I used to be, but it's a pretty good change, all things considered!"

As Tohru reflected on the idea of sleeping on piles of money all day every day, she quietly doubted Makoto's words.

...

Meisuke whistled as she looked over the passing crowd, taken aback by the sheer vibrance and spectacle of the display. "Man, there's all _kinds_ of people here, huh?" She noted, taking another sip from her water-Tohru had stressed the importance of hydration over intoxication when she saw the beer can. "You'd be shocked at how many of these are from my world."

With a small, slightly embarrassed smile, Tohru said, "I think a lot of those guys are just showing off costumes from games and anime. I'm pretty sure most of them don't even know your world exist."

"Well, I guess that makes sense," the dragoness replied, a cheeky grin taking face on her face as she added, "I mean, I'm only dressed like this because I know how much you like it... It really wouldn't be that hard to disguise these horns at all~!" Pausing to chuckle at Tohru's immediate blushing and flustered protests, she continued, "But I mean that there are a lot of people actually from my world. Like those two over there, for instance."

"Huh?" The young woman said, slightly taken aback as she turned to glance at some sort of tall, slender man with pointed ears and a relaxed expression standing beside a woman clad in a pink dress and shawl with green hair and wings of a light green. "Woah, that's kinda cool; I didn't think someone from another world be all that interested in something like thi..." Her words ground to a halt as the full gravity of what Meisuke had said crashed down upon her. "WAIT, WHAT!?"

...

"Pardon me."

The inhuman pair of elf and birdwoman turned in interest to Meisuke, a vaguely curious look on her face as she asked, "Sorry, didn't mean to bother you. It's just... you guys have a very distinct look to you."

With a comforting smile and a gesture to the man at her side, the birdwoman replied, "Oh my, oh my, it's no trouble in the slightest! Would it be not too presumptuous on my part to assume you are a being such as ourselves?"

"You got me," Meisuke said, returning the smile before asking, "So what brings you guys here? I'm kind of surprised to see someone from our world in a place like this."

Proudly placing his hands at his hips, the elf answered, "Why, we're participating as a circle, of course! When we first came to this world, we were each a bit confused, but over time we relaxed and found ourselves enjoying this place and its works. Now we put together a doujin for each Commiket and come to display it to our fellow fans-although being able to relax and show off our true forms while we're here is a pretty good bonus!"

The birdwoman rolled her eyes at the elf's well-intentioned outburst before saying, "Oh my, oh my Arinedeel, it is most improprietous to bulldoze one who you've only just made acquaintance with such as our friend here with such monologues!" She wagged her finger at the elf as if to scold him before turning to Meisuke, her smile now a bit strained as she said, "Oh my, oh my, I apologize on my companion's half for his lack of restraint. He truly possesses a good heart, but he tends to express it without regard for time or place. He spake truth, however; we did come to indulge ourselves a bit and it _is_ relaxing to spend some time in our true forms."

Her brow furrowed in thought for a moment before clapping her hands in restrained enthusiasm, saying, "Oh my, oh my! You should join us; it is _most_ liberating. What brings you to this world, if I may be so bold as to inquire?"

"I'm a dragonnewt who got a bit lost. A dragonmaid, if you prefer." Meisuke replied without missing a beat. "I guess you could say I'm here for the same thing as you."

...

Tohru watched the exchange intently from afar as Meisuke and the pair said their goodbyes, returning to her mistress with a smile on her face. Unable to contain herself, the young woman waited only until Meisuke was in earshot before asking, "So how'd it go?"

With a noncommittal shrug and grin, the dragoness replied, "Eh, pretty well. They couldn't talk for very long because they had to get back to their circle, but I think I made a good impression. They didn't run off in fear, anyway-thought that's probably because I lied to them."

Blinking in surprise, Tohru repeated, "You lied to them?"

"Yep," she replied with a nod. "I told them I was a dragonewt-basically a sort of lizardfolk that isn't known for being extremely aggressive or anything like that. If I told them I was dragon they'd probably freak out and run for the hills with blood-curdling screams."

An awkward smile found its way on to Tohru's face as she contemplated what that would like before turning to look out across the crowds, saying, "So how many people are here from your world, do you think?"

The dragoness offered another shrug as she answered, "Who knows? I can't pick out all of them amongst this big crowd, but I don't think there's too many here. The ones who did come are probably just lost in this world anyway, so it's not like you can blame them for being a little... cabin-fevery. As long as they aren't disruptive, anyway."

"'Parents', m'lady? Oh! You would be meaning my progenitors! Nay, though they've not attended this event I am quite certain as to their present place of repose. Furthermore, I am not 'lost', as you say, for I am well aware as to my current place. Thus, while I am most humble apologetic for wasting your precious little time, I am unable to accompany you to this 'Lost Child Center' you are referring to."

"Like that, for instance." Meisuke said, slapping a palm against her forehead as she laboriously shifted her gaze to the source of the commotion in time to see Shouta-this time dressed in the garb of an ancient Pharaoh, from his golden gorget to his linen tunic all the way to a fabulous golden crown-being dragged rather unsuccessfully by a volunteer staff member.

Her awkward smile returning in full force as she watched this display, Tohru said, "I guess this is the part where I go grab him from the care center, huh?" before dashing off after the deceptively young dragon-god.

Meisuke watched this for a moment with a long-wearied grin before turning once more to the milling crowds, considering her own words.

_I guess it's not _awful_ to make a bit of a fuss,_ she thought, watching the occasional sahuagin or bunny schoolgirl pass by. _I guess these things are sort of about the whole spectacle anyway. Maybe I should... loosen up a bit myself...?_

She turned to where Tohru had run off, considering what the young woman would say if she had asked before shaking her head with a laugh. _Tohru would be all for it, of course,_ she mused, her smile shifting ever so slightly to good humor. _Heck, I doubt she would even mind if I went full dragon._

Her conversation with the elf floated up to the surface of her thoughts, and the dragoness's brow furrowed in contemplation. _Well, maybe today I'll let up just a bit...?_

...

Tohru rushed back with Shouta's hand in her own, saying, "Hey, Meisuke, sorry about running off like that. I had to tell those staff people that I was supposed to be watching over Shouta today for his parents when I lost track of him." Offering up a sheepish smile, she began to add, "Man, you should've seen the disgust in her eyes when I told her that I had taken a kid to something like thi-" before her words died in her throat.

Meisuke stood in... if not her full glory, then certainly as much as Commiket would reasonably allow. Her red wings unfurled from her back, each feather upon it glossy and perfectly groomed. A black tail at least three or four feet in length slipped out from under her suit jacket, ending in a tuft of reddish feathers. Her ears seemed to have been replaced with a small pair of softly swaying fins and frills. Even her horns and eyes and even her teeth seemed sharper, larger, better defined.

She looked, simply put, stunning.

After a long moment of shock, Tohru finally managed to stammer out through her blushing and fidgeting, "M-Meisuke! You-you're fantastic! Can I t-take a picture!?"

The dragoness blinked in surprise, expecting neither this reaction nor this question. She recovered quickly, however, and with a nod and a wink said, "Of course, Miss Tohru. I wouldn't be much of a _butler_ if I turned down my _master's_ request, now would I?"

Reciprocating the nod with gusto, Tohru flipped out her phone, carefully flipping through it and adjusting its settings until, finally satisfied, she snapped the picture.

As she did so, however, a number of shouts seemed to sound off, and a group of camera-wielding bystanders came rushing forward.

"Oh dear, oh dear," Meisuke muttered, thankful to the birdwoman for the phrase.

...

A final _snap_ of the camera lens sounded, and its operator leaned out from behind it to reveal a somewhat familiar face.

"See? I told you I'd come back!" He said with a confident smile.

Nodding in agreement, Meisuke replied, "I guess you did." For a moment, she said nothing more and looked out into the convention hall with her brow furrowed in thought. After a moment she nodded, beginning, "Say, Mr. Photographer guy..."

With a blink of surprise at this unusual mode of address, the photographer replied, "Yeah?"

"This place is pretty crazy, huh?" The dragoness began, "I mean, everywhere I look, _something's_ going on, and that something tends to be pretty wild, too." Glancing over the whole of the Convention Center, she continued, "People everywhere, pulling all sorts of stunts and working their hearts out just to show off their passion for the things they love." She brought her hand to her chin and began to stroke it before asking, "Do you think all humans are like this? Or, if they aren't, then what makes these people so special?"

The photographer took a moment to consider this statement before finally replying, "I don't really know... I guess I sort of figure that... everyone is like this, but isn't. People all have things they care about, and when dealing with those things they can go off the deep end pretty quickly." Pausing to shrug again, he continued, "Sure, everyone has stuff they don't bother to much with, but when it comes to something like this, they go all out. People care about what they think matters, even if it means they have to go a bit overboard. But, I mean, if they're happy this way, well..." The photographer offered a small thumbs-up, concluding, "It's a-ok with me, I guess."

Reflecting on the people she had encountered in this world and he own-Tohru, Takeshi, Makoto, Shouta, even Joui and the nonhuman pair she had met earlier-Meisuke began to nod in agreement.

"Yeah," she said, "I see what you mean."

...

Tohru smiled as she watched Meisuke return, a pensive look on her face as she asked, "Hey, Tohru, how'd everything go while I was gone?"

Giving a small thumbs-up-the gesture causing the dragoness's eyes to light up in surprise-the young woman said, "Everything went just fine! After you got dragged away, the crowds narrowed down a bit." With a small, somewhat sheepish grin, she added, "I think we might have you to thank for that, actually..."

"Hah... you're probably right..." She turned her gaze to a nearby window, a wistful glint in her eyes as she reflected over the past few hours. "Commiket, huh...?" After a few moments, she finally finished, "I think I had a lot of fun. Plus, I met some people who were kind of like us."

"Like us...?" Tohru repeated, blinking in confusion. "Like how?"

As Meisuke opened her mouth to answer, however, she stopped short as a shiver ran down her spine-a sensation Tohru seemed to experience as well. Turning to the source of the phenomenon, they found Takeshi standing before them, a wicked glint in his eye and a cruel smile on his face as he said, "Success... _success_..." He paused for a malicious cackle before continuing, "With the funds we acquired by today's efforts, we will be able to publish yet more doujins... And it is all thanks to you two! I thank and remind you that there will always be a place for you two by our circle's side!" He indulged in another round of wicked laughter before wandering away from them.

"I... don't think so..." Meisuke replied to his retreating back, adding, "I think I've had enough of this whole Commiket thing for a bit. Ready to go home, Tohru?"

"Yeah!" The young woman answered, a bright, cheerful smile on her face as she took Meisuke's hand.

...

Makoto quietly packed up his belongings, a contented smile on his face as he muttered, "None today either, huh..."

The cheerful dragon turned to fold up his table but stopped short, a wicked, violent aura oozing wickedness and gloom seeming to bear down upon him. His smile taking a bright, enthusiastic shift, he said, "Oh, hey, Takeshi!

For a moment the dark man said nothing, seemingly debating something within himself before his arm awkwardly, almost robotically shot out, a small stack of neatly lain bills in his clutch as he said, "One copy of _First Butler's Paradise_, thank you."

"Oh, come on, I couldn't make you pay for this," Takeshi began, reaching into a nearby box to produce the doujin in question, "I wouldn't even be here without you! This is the least I could d-"

"No." The man uttered a single, strong denial as his eyes narrowed. "You poured effort and passion into your work, and I stringently refuse to deny the value of that work and passion by accepting your product without compensation." Placing his money on the table, he said, "I would like to _purchase_ one copy of _First Butler's Paradise_, please."

Shrugging with a small, exasperated sigh, Makoto took the money off the table, saying, "Really, this seems a little extreme, doesn't it? I mean, it's only some first-timer's work... it can't be all _that_ good..."

With a vigorous shake of his head, Takeshi stated, "No. It is amateurish in some regards, but the overall quality is..." He paused for a moment as though unsure of what word to use before finally concluding, "Good."

"Heh," Makoto chuckled, handing over the doujin as he said, "I guess you would have to believe it if you're going to make a statement like that, huh?"

"Quite."

***End of Chapter 15***


	16. Chapter 16: Tohru and 'Magic'

Chapter 16: Tohru and 'Magic'

Meisuke and Riko sat on the couch, each sipping their preferred beverage as they watched the television. Pouring from the speakers, one could hear the sound of a man speaking in a dramatic tone to the applause of some sort of crowd.

"Sorry, Riko," the elder dragoness began as she turned to her charge, "but I can't really say I get the appeal of this sort of thing. I mean... most of it's either really obviously faked or an easily explained exploitation of well-understood physical forces. Plus, we can do _real magic_. Why are you so fascinated by this sort of legerdemain and parlor trickery?"

Her cheeks puffing up and coloring an impressively bright scarlet, the smaller dragoness furrowed her brow as she pouted, saying, "What do you mean, _real magic!?_ This is totally real! And if even _humans_ can do it, then we can do it too!" She began to scowl, muttering, "Now all I have to do is figure out _how_ they did it..."

With a roll of her eyes, Meisuke replied, "No, it isn't. Like I said, these are just a bunch of sleight of hand or cheap illusions that-"

"HAH!" Riko cut in, puffing her chest with pride as she said, "You admitted that they were _illusions!_ Which are _magic!_"

A sigh escaped Meisuke's lips as she began to massage the bridge of her nose, saying, "Not in the sense you're thinking of, Riko. See, an illusion is-"

"Are... are they doing _magic_ on TV!?"

"Oh no." Meisuke uttered, turning to the newcomer with the sneaking suspicion that she was about to be dragged into several hours' worth of annoying and unproductive screwing around.

Tohru plopped down onto the couch, her eyes sparkling as she rested her chin in her hands, saying, "I tried to get into this sort of thing when I was a kid, but I wasn't very good at it..." Her face fell for a moment and her form lost all vigor as she added, "We never did find what happened to Mister Bunny..."

Cringing as she shook away the mental image conjured by this statement, Meisuke said, "That sounds like as good a reason as any to not reopen that particular chapter of your life, yeah?"

"No!" Tohru declared, pumping her fists as she continued, "I gave up too easily back when I was a kid! Now that I'm grown up, I can definitely do it!"

Nodding in enthusiastic agreement, Riko said, "Absolutely! We can totally do whatever that is!" She thrust her finger at the TV, saying, "Moving pencils with your _mind!_ That's awesome! We could _totally_ do that!"

An equally enthusiastic nod from Tohru and the pair rushed off into the apartment, likely in search of pencils.

"Good grief," Meisuke muttered to herself, picking up the remote to change the channel. "I wonder if I should tell them...?"

...

Mysterious, supposedly magic-like, and most importantly _loud_ noises came from the apartment kitchen while the dragoness reclined on the couch, another beer in her left hand and a copy of Newtype in her right as she pointedly ignored the commotion. The cacophony carried on for a moment before finally falling silent. And then came the crying.

"Meisukeee," Tohru moaned, rubbing at her eyes as she trudged into the living room with Riko at her heels, "It's not moooviiing!"

Sighing, the dragoness pulled herself into a sitting position, setting her beer on a coaster as she replied, "Of course it isn't. It's just like I told you: magic isn't real. You're just trying to reproduce the results without actually understanding the methods to enact them-methods which, by the way, _kids_ figure out in middle school.

Scoffing at this claim, Riko replied, "You're only saying that because you don't _believe!_ It's not like you could do it, so don't tell _us_ about how this works!"

Meisuke rolled her eyes as she reached into her pocket, pulling out a pencil. she placed it on to the table and began to stare at it. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, though it lay untouched, it began to move, teetering for a moment before rolling across the table. Both Riko and Meisuke let out an astonished _gasp_ as Meisuke sighed again, collecting the pencil.

"It's just like I told you: magic isn't real. This is just a trick anyone with a free afternoon-or maybe about five minutes-could figure out how to do."

The younger pair hung their heads, and for a moment, all was silent. Then, Tohru said, "I get it."

"Good," Meisuke replied with a nod of your head, "now that you do, could you please keep quiet for-"

"WE NEED MORE TRAINING!" Tohru's fist shot up once again as Riko cheered, their dejection seemingly cured in an instant.

"No," Meisuke said as her fingers once again found the bridge of her nose, "That is not what I mea-"

"RIKO!" The young woman ploughed on, seemingly deaf to the dragoness's protests. "On the bookshelf in the next room, I have an old book about psychic powers! I didn't think it worked back then, but now I see that I just didn't train enough! Let's go find it and use its teachings!"

With an assenting cry from Riko, the pair rushed off as Meisuke once again found herself alone. For a moment, she appeared to consider something; however, it soon passed, and she declared, "Nah. Not worth the effort."

She then stretched out on the couch, turning once more to her beer and magazine.

...

Tohru and Riko knelt in a broad, green plain, their hands clutched to their foreheads and their eyes screwed shut in concentration. Meisuke sat on a nearby rock, watching the display with a vague look of disinterest as she asked, "So what exactly are you two trying to do again...?"

A broad, confident smile broke Tohru's concentrated grimace as she replied, "Object reading! It is possible to, with the powers of the _third eye_, reveal secrets about someone by concentrating an item of theirs! For example, I can tell that the owner of this button I found when we got her has been in a great deal of pain recently!"

Cocking her eyebrow in muted interest, Meisuke replied, "Oh really? Hm..." For a moment the dragoness appeared to be in deep contemplation before pulling her phone. After a moment, she nodded once and said, "Says here whoever they were, they were definitely a Scorpio."

"Wow!" Tohru exclaimed, her eyes glittering in wonder as she asked, "How did you know!?"

Rolling her eyes yet again-the dragoness was beginning to fear it may become a habit-she replied, "I didn't; the Japan Times did. They reported it with the rest of the horoscopes, and it was just as vague and general when they said it. And now Riko is going to say how I'm only saying any of this because I'm a 'nonbeliever'."

"Hey!" Riko protested, "You're only saying that becau-" Her sentence died in her throat, and instead she said, "Wait, how'd you know!? I didn't even know yet!"

With an irritated groan, Meisuke replied, "First of all, because that's what you said when we were talking about it earlier. Second, I _didn't_. I gave you a leading statement and because it's the sort of thing you would say, you believed you had thought it up. Like I said: cheap illusions and legerdemain."

For a moment, Tohru said nothing, seemingly deep in thought. The moment passed quickly, however, and she smacked her fist into her hand, saying, "Alright! It's time to try a different method; we just weren't very compatible with this kind of training, that's all! We just have to find the kind we _are _compatible with, and then we'll be set!"

"Oh no," Meisuke said as her palm made contact with her forehead, "another one of these harebrained schemes..."

...

Tohru and Riko sat at a picnic table, taking turns rolling a pair of dice and staring intently at the game pieces. Occasionally, a flash of triumph would cross their faces; another roll of the dice, however, would send them crashing back into the pits of despair with a small moan or whine of complaint.

For a moment Meisuke watched them with an unfathomable expression before she finally asked, "So, what exactly are you trying to do now?"

With a bright smile, Tohru replied, "Well, I realized a critical flaw with our attempts to move the pencil earlier, and we're trying to correct it!"

Suppressing the urge to suggest that the flaw was the impossibility of the attempt, Meisuke instead asked, "And that correction would be...?"

"Well," Tohru began, puffing up her chest with pride, "we're only beginning psychics, so of _course_ we aren't powerful enough to make stuff _start_ moving! Instead, we're trying to change how something that's _already_ moving lands!" Rolling the dice yet again with an intense stare, Tohru smiled with pride as she watched both land... with a single pip facing up on either die.

The young woman's face fell, and she seemed to be on the verge of tears. This was only exacerbated when Meisuke picked the dice up and, after looking curiously at them for a moment, rolled them, producing a pair of sixes.

...

"This is it... the moment of truth..." Tohru muttered, seating herself on the couch and placing a pencil on the coffee table. "If I can do this, then all that training will have been worth it."

For a moment Meisuke said nothing. Then, with a sigh, she began, "Tohru, you only have so much time off, and I don't really think that you've been using it as best you could for the past few days. Maybe we could-"

"NO!" The young woman interjected, throwing her hands up in protest as she continued, "I have to get this right... I have to do it... NOW!"

She stared at the pencil, concentration etched into every line of her face. A moment of nothingness passed. She began to slowly wave her hands over the pencil. Nothing. She mumbled strange words under her breath. Nothing. She pushed her fingers against her temples with all the strength she could muster, and Meisuke shot a worrying look at the young woman as a strange snapping noise seemed to fill the air.

Still nothing.

"UWAAAH!" Tohru cried, slumping back into the couch with tears in her eyes, utterly defeated. "Why must life be so cruel to someone so adorableee?"

Cocking her eyebrow in concern, Meisuke replied, "Why does it matter? You don't need to have some crazy psychic powers, Miss Tohru; you're a good person, with a great personality and a bright outlook. Not possessing some mystical, magically force won't change that."

The young woman glanced away, muttering, "Well, yeah, but..." before falling silent.

Cocking her eyebrow another inch, Meisuke wondered why her friend and master had stopped herself. Finding no progress in silence, the dragoness asked, "What's this really about, Miss Tohru? I know that you mentioned wanting to do this as a kid, and how cool you thought it was, but... I don't really think that's all there is to it. I think this goes... deeper, one way or another.

Another moment passed, and Meisuke was beginning to wonder how long this uncomfortable silence would last when Tohru offered a small murmur. Both eyebrows shooting up in surprise this time, Meisuke urged, "Um, sorry, but I couldn't really hear you...

"I'm..." Tohru began, wavering for a moment before finishing, "not special."

Her other eyebrow jumping to join its fellow, Meisuke said, "What?"

Tohru moaned softly before replying, "I'm not special, like you or Riko or Shouta. I don't have some crazy magical power or ancient knowledge." Sitting up to place her hands in her lap, she said, "I was always okay with not being special... I thought that it didn't really matter if I was or not... until I met you guys." Lifting her gaze to the ceiling with a smile, the young woman continued, "When I saw how awesome you and everyone else is, how powerful and cool, I felt like I could be cool too. But then I remembered that I'm just some human..." She allowed her head to slump once more in defeat, concluding, "I wanted to believe that if I could do something like magic, I would prove I was worthy to stand beside you guys... even if it's just a little bit. But I'm not."

For a moment, Meisuke said nothing. Then, she put her arms around her friend's shoulders.

"Wha-!?" Tohru interjected before the dragoness cupped her hand over the young woman's mouth, saying, "Just calm down and let your shoulders relax for a second, alright?"

Nodding in confusion, she did as she was told. After a moment, Meisuke loosened the hug and said, "Alright, now try to breath with your chest. Sort of... push it out, so you drag the air in."

Again, in spite of her confusion the young woman did as prompted.

Nodding at this, Meisuke said, "Alright, now, spread your lips just a tiny bit without pushing out your cheeks and let your shoulders and chest relax."

Nodding in understanding, Tohru did this and, to her amazement, the pencil began to wiggle and, finally, to move.

"See?" Meisuke said with a shrug. "There's not a whole lot to it. Nothing particularly special about it. Just like us: Shouta, Riko, and me." Shaking her head, she continued, "Tohru, I know it's easy to see us with this veil of mystery and mystique, but at the end of the day we're just a couple of ordinary people, only a little bit... different." Patting her friend on the shoulder she concluded, "You're better than any of us, and more compassionate than any of us. You might be rash, and a bit childish at times, but you're also kind, earnest, and above all, you _care_. You don't have to try to be special, especially not to prove yourself to us; you already are, and we never were."

For a moment the young woman seemed to waver before replying, "But... I don't do anything special..."

"It's not about what you can do." Meisuke answered with a firm nod. "You _are_ special."

Another moment, nothing seemed to happen. Finally, however, Tohru said, "Yeah, I guess... I guess you're right."

...

"MEISUKE! MEISUKEMEISUKEMEISUKE!"

"What, Tohru!?" The dragoness in question looked up from her newspaper, her brow furrowed in slight annoyance as she turned to its source.

Tohru bounced back and forth from one foot to another, a broad smile on her face and her finger extended towards the television, saying, "THEY'RE MAKING PEOPLE DISAPPEAR AND REAPPEAR ON THE TV! C'MON AND LOOK!"

Laying her head down on the kitchen table she sat at, Meisuke let out a long-wearied sigh.

...

Tohru sat at the kitchen table, an expression of quiet contemplation on her face as she flipped through her phone. _Meisuke's been here for a while now... well, a while to me, I guess. Dragons probably have a different idea of 'a while' than humans. But... is she actually happy here? Or she only sticking around because of that whole 'saved my life' thing? I am I just forcing her to stay here and take care of me when she'd rather be in the wider world, doing her own thing?_

The clinking of a coffee cup being placed in front of her drew the young woman out of her reverie with a small jump, glancing up from her phone to see the concern begin to build in Meisuke's face.

"Are you alright, Miss Tohru?" She asked, her brows beginning to furrow. "You seemed kind of... worried? Or maybe just... _uncertain_ for a second there. Is something on your mind?"

With a shake of her head and a firm grip on the coffee before her, the young woman answered, "Nah, it's nothing. Just kinda... off today, maybe." Pausing to take a sip from the beverage, she blinked in surprise, saying, "Woah, this is _really_ good, Meisuke! What'd you do? Are you practicing when I'm not around or something?"

The dragoness shrugged, saying, "Eh, it comes with the territory. I've been your butler for... what, half a year now? It's only natural I'd learn your preferences and a bit about adjusting the taste for how you're feeling."

Blushing at the mention of butlers, Tohru said, "Well, I guess, but... I dunno, I think it's not 'cause you've been here for so long, it's because you're _you_. You've always been good at the little details." Taking another sip, she added, "Ever since you got here, the whole house has been a lot more _relaxing_, y'know? Like I'd been running myself ragged without any kind of break. Even helping Riko's been like a breath of fresh air. And it's all thanks to you."

"I don't know about that." Meisuke replied with a small smile before glancing a nearby wall clock. After considering it for a moment, she declared, "I think it's about time I go grab some groceries for dinner tonight. Anything you want, Miss Tohru?"

A cheerful smile returning to her face, the young woman happily piped, "Udon!"

Another shrug at this, the dragoness replied, "All right, sounds good. I'll be back in a few; don't do anything to mess up the apartment while I'm gone, alright?"

"Okay!"

Tohru sat patiently for a moment, listening for the shutting of the door and then allowing herself another minute or two to see if Meisuke would return. Once the time had passed, the young woman rose from her chair, a smirk on her face and a pair of swirl-lensed glasses in her hand as she strode into the living room, an inconspicuous wooden basket and its rather embarrassing contents on her mind.

...

Meisuke wandered through the shopping district in the midday sun, allowing herself to lazily drift past the stalls and stores with a plastic bag containing what goods she had already acquired. She exchanged a few greetings with her fellow regular shoppers as well as with those purveyors who knew her best, and she looked on with interest at the humans milling about with children and families.

_I've always tried to avoid thinking about it, but this place is pretty transient, huh?_ The dragoness pondered, allowing her attention to drift with her body as she moved through the crowd. _Today it's here like this with these people, but tomorrow the people will be different, and the circumstances will be different, and one day maybe even the place will be different!_

So deep was she in her considerations that she failed to notice the gradual slowing of the events around her or the apparent darkening of the sky... until she was forced to.

"Any day, this place could disappear. Any time, it could burn or be plundered. Why even bother?" A deep, grinding, but most importantly familiar voice sounded from behind her. "Why not abandon such a useless, flighty patch of land and the pathetic creatures that live on it?"

"And here we go..." Meisuke muttered to herself, slowly reaching into her shopping bag.

A proud, black serpent rose above her, massive wings covered in red feathers rippling in the afternoon breeze, yellow-brown horns set above flaring fins and dead hazel eyes watched impassively down upon her. In other words, an altogether recognizable form.

"So, what, you're my inner demons or something like that?" The butler asked, a thoroughly unimpressed expression on her face.

With a slow nod, the serpent replied, "Yes. I'm your rage, your discontent-the repressed emotions you hide that you may live in this world. You've hidden from me, ignored me, and for what? A _human?_ Is this transient, shallow joy worth disregarding your _basic nature_, what you are at your _core?_" The gargantuan dragoness snorted. "Is it fun playing butler? Do you enjoy it? Even if you did, even if you _do_, it will end. It must. You are a monster, and ought to live as a monster! Grasping at all you desire, taking that which you want. You will never be able to obtain these things here. You must return to _our world_, seek power in _our home_. Why bother with such transient creatures, when with time this 'Miss Tohru' you love so much will surely-" The beast found its speech interrupted by a small hiss, and her eyes narrowing in fury as she asked, "What are you doing!?"

Taking a long, _noisy_ slurp from a can of beer, Meisuke replied, "Oh, sorry, were you not done? Well, unfortunately for you, I'd say you are." Pausing for another sip, she continued, "See, I drink to shut you up. And 'cause I like it. Alright, mostly because I like, but also to kill _you_ and to keep you dead." With a sigh, she added, "You think I didn't know or wasn't thinking about any of that? That I had it in my mind humans were these immortal, unkillable beings that never tired or passed away? That I forgot every time I blink the rest of her life could breeze by and disappear?" She took another pause, this time to chuckle, before concluding, "I know all that. None of this is stuff I didn't know already-then again, you're me, aren't you? Let's just take care of that real quick."

Meisuke closed her eyes, tilted back her head, and took another long, satisfying sip of beer.

When she lowered her head and opened her eyes again, she noted with a smile that time had returned to normal.

_Honestly as long as Miss Tohru-or even just her memory-is by my side, I'll be fine, and I'm not worried about Miss Tohru going anywhere. If anything, I'm worried she'll send me away-that she'll think she's 'not worthy' to have a butler like me around. I guess that, for all of her good points, she still has a bit of an inferiority complex, huh. _Meisuke paused for a chuckle, adding, _Well, it's kind of sick to say it, but that has its own charm, too._

...

"I'm back," Meisuke said as she entered the apartment only to be surprised by a leaping hug from Tohru.

"Welcome back!" The young woman chirped, wrapping her arms around Meisuke's neck as she added, "Another one of your friends showed up, Meisuke! He's got this whole different... _feel_ to him, y'know? Like an old salaryman! He's waiting in the living room! C'mon!"

With this, she grabbed the butler's arm and dragged her into the kitchen whilst Meisuke wracked her brains trying to figure out who of her limited friend group fit the rather lacking description Tohru had provided. All mysteries were revealed, however, when, with a sharp growl in the back of her throat, she found an older gentleman in roughly in his late forties with a business suit, purple hair, and purple eyes. Yet another unfortunately familiar appearance.

After pausing a moment to allow the growl to die down in her throat, Meisuke finally managed to force out, "Hello, Mr. Magatsuchi."

***End of Chapter 16***


	17. Chapter 17: Meisuke and Family

Chapter 17: Meisuke and Family

"Meisuke!" Mr. Magatsuchi said with a polite smile, "It's been a while since we last spoke, hasn't it? It's good to see that you're-"

"Tohru." Meisuke cut in, striding towards the man, "Get behind me. Right now."

The young woman in question blinked in surprise before ducking behind her butler, peeking out from behind Meisuke's shoulder with a confused furrow in her brow.

Nodding her approval at Tohru's compliance, Meisuke turned to the man at their table with a grimace. "Leave. Now." She growled with a terse nod towards the door.

Mr. Magatsuchi tutted before rising from the table, his smile growing worn as he said, "Now, Meisuke, you know very well that I cannot just _leave_ without doing something about all the interference you've been up to."

Tohru leaned out further from behind Meisuke, her head tilted in confusion as she asked, "Interference? What d'you mean by th-"

It happened far too quickly for the young woman to consciously register. One moment, she was talking to the polite older man, and the next, the man's fingers were quivering centimeters from her face, clawing at her eyes and barely restrained by the grip Meisuke had on his wrist.

Magatsuchi's face had twisted into a mask of contempt and loathing, his eyes screwed nearly shut as though the very act of looking upon the human before him was too painful to bear, and his lips had twisted into a demented, inhuman smile, baring a maw full of jagged fangs. Meisuke looked no better, her expression screaming wrath and reproach.

"_THE TRASH_," the older man intoned, "_WILL HOLD ITS TONGUE_."

Tohru fell to her knees, curling up in terror at the sight before her as Meisuke pushed the man away. For a moment, the two seemed to size each other up before Magatsuchi relaxed, readjusting his tie as he said, "Meisuke, this world is not ours to trouble as we please, and it is not your right to live in it. You _must_ come with me before some problem should arise that affects the delicate balance between our worlds and-" The man stopped short, considering his words for a moment before concluding, "-causing a rather regrettable situation. Surely you grasp that this is for the best."

"Go home." Meisuke replied, her face still tense as she threw her arms to her sides, interposing herself between the man and Tohru. "You're right in saying you have no business interfering with this world and _nothing else_, so _leave_."

The older man sighed, his face falling to a concerned frown as he said, "Meisuke, this is unimaginable for you. What _binds_ you to this world? Why are you so damnably _dogged_ about remaining? You cannot _stay_ here, Meisuke, it cannot be _allowed!_ This world is teeming with creatures who know not of dragons, and who _must not_ know of dragons! Of _anything_ beyond their borders!"

Beginning to relax her stance, Meisuke too adjusted her tie before replying, "Those are _your_ rules, but mine are different: never go longer than I need to without a drink, never shake hands with someone wearing a cold mask, and-" She paused to push up her glasses before glaring at the old man as she concluded, "_never_ do anything to make Miss Tohru cry. I will stand by my master for as long as I can, and that's _way_ longer than my patience for your stupid rules will last."

For a split second Magatsuchi's whole form seemed to writhe in pure, barely restrained bile at the word 'master', but this spasm quickly passed. Instead, he said, "Meisuke... _think_ about this for a moment. This..." he paused for another spasm before continuing, "_human_ is a candle flickering in the wind. It will either be blown out or fall over and set everything you hold dear aflame. There's nothing redeeming about such creatures and the only thing keeping me from wiping the whole of this _paltry village_ from the face of this miserably infested world is the regulations regarding what we can and cannot do here. _Please_ come with me, Meisuke; I raised you to be better than... than _this_, whatever this pitiful display is."

Tohru blinked in surprise, glancing back and forth between the older man and Meisuke before repeating, "'Raised you'? Wait, so does that mean...?"

"Yep," Meisuke confirmed through gritted teeth, "This old man was that drake I mentioned back then. He was the one that raised me," She glared accusingly at Magatsuchi, adding, "and the one who taught me to hate humans."

With another wearied sigh, the man replied, "I wasn't teaching you to 'hate' humans, I was teaching you what irritating, worthless little bugs they are. I taught you _is_, not _ought_. It is your choice to hate them, and while I would applaud that decision, I will not make the choice for you."

"Oh, _sorrry_," Meisuke replied with a sardonic roll of her eyes, "I shouldn't have said you taught me to hate humans-I should have said you tried to control my _opinions_ so my actions would just naturally ally with your _personal beliefs!_"

"Um," Tohru muttered, raising her hand a bit as she watched the pair's spat.

"_Controlled_ your _opinions!?_" Magatsuchi repeated with an incredulous sneer. "I taught you _facts_ drawn from _observation!_ It's not my fault if those facts clash with your rose-tinted view of humanity, but it _is_ my responsibility to restrain you when you act without some basic sense of _prudence!_"

"Sorry, but, um..." Tohru said, louder this time.

"Oh, riiight," Meisuke drawled, "because your biased view of the world is constructed from _facts!_ And I guess _that's_ why it consistently fails to produce a workable model of the world from which predictions and explanations can be _drawn!?_ Y'know, like a worldview is _supposed_ to!?"

Tohru began to pout, her irritation at being ignored coloring her cheeks as she shouted, "HEY! I JUST NEED TO _ASK_ SOMETHING HERE!"

The warring monsters paused, giving their attention with identical expressions of surprise to the young woman. Tohru offered a small, sheepish smile before clearing her throat as she said, "Erm... Meisuke... you're only here for me, right?"

With a nod, the butler replied, "Yeah, that's right. Why?"

For a moment, she said nothing; she merely stood, frozen in place with a bitter look of dread on her face. She then began to cycle between nearly every emotion Meisuke had seen the young woman experience since her arrival-and a few she hadn't. Meisuke only knew that she didn't like this change.

Finally, as though weeks' worth of stress were placed upon Tohru all at once, she fell to her knees with a guilty sigh as she answered, "Because you're not _supposed_ to be here! You're not _supposed_ to fight with your family! It's all my fault that you're _here_, that you're fighting, and that you _can't leave!_ Because I'm here, holding you back, I'm causing trouble for everyone... I'm causing trouble for _you!_"

Tears began to drip down Tohru's face as she continued, "You should go with this guy and forget about me. I'm not important anyway... I'm not someone worth hurting _everybody_ for! If I asked you to stay here, it'd just be... it'd be selfish, right!?" She began to bawl, crying out, "So go _home_, Meisuke! It's not right for someone like me to keep you here! All I can do is hold you back! All I can do is _make trouble!_" She began to calm down, staring at the floor with a few quiet sobs as she concluded, "So go home... it's where you belong... it's where you're supposed to be... it's where someone useless like me _isn't_..."

"Tohru..." Meisuke muttered as she began to reach out to the young woman. However, she found her wrist caught in Magatsuchi's grasp, a victorious grin on the dragon's face.

"You heard the _insect~!_" He said in a sing-song tone. "You said you wouldn't do _aaanything_ to make this bug beneath pity _cry,_ and yet here she is, _crying_ because you refuse to return! You really _should_ know better, Meisuke!"

For a moment, Tohru directed a stare of barely contained malice at the old drake before, finally, she took a deep breath and rubbed her brow, saying, "I'll come with you... but _only_ as long as Miss Tohru wishes it. I'll be back the _instant_ she wants it, and _no later_-even if it means disintegrating your 'rules' and the coffee filters they're scrawled on."

Nodding as he continued to sneer, Magatsuchi pulled the apartment door open and stepped through it. "Coming, Meisuke?" He called.

"Yeah, yeah," the butler muttered as she begrudgingly began to follow him. As she stepped through the door, she took one glance back and asked, "Are you sure this is what you want, Miss Tohru?"

The young woman snorted loudly, wiping her eyes and putting on a falsely cheery smile as she answered, "O-of course! It's- it's the right thing to do, yeah?"

Meisuke said nothing as she took hold of the doorknob and, with an inscrutable look at her master, pulled the apartment door shut.

Leaving Tohru alone.

All alone.

...

Meisuke and Magatsuchi took to the air, Magatsuchi unfurling his full dragon form and glancing back with no small deal of irritation as he asked, "Must you _insist_ on maintaining that shape?"

With a shrug of her still very human shoulders and putting her very human hands in her suit pants' pockets, Meisuke replied, "It wouldn't be worth it- I'll be changing too soon for it to matter anyway. Plus, I can fly in this form just fine, so why should you care?"

The old drake narrowed his eyes as he said, "You really have entirely too much confidence in that small human. She _abandoned_ you, and you still have this much _faith_ in her?"

Meisuke stroked her chin for a moment before answering, "Tohru is... well, she's not what you'd call 'confident' in herself. Or, maybe it's more like she's certain in her own lack of value? She's a good girl, really, so she doesn't want to trouble anyone... but I think she might just have a cute little needy streak that's just a bit... childish, I guess you'd call it? Eh, it'll make sense soon enough anyway. At least the results will." Then, with a flick of her hand she called forth a can of beer and began to sip at it pensively.

Magatsuchi offered a small, suspicious raise of his brow at this but otherwise said nothing. Then, with a flap of his mighty wings the dragon and the butler took off into the night.

...

Tohru was crying. Well, she had been crying. She wasn't sure how long it had been since she had started, and she wasn't sure how long it would be until she stopped. _Stupid, stupid, stupid!_ She berated herself. _How could you just send Meisuke_ away _like that!? She probably thinks you_ hate _her now!_

Glancing up from the floor-had she really not moved from this one spot for hours on end?-she saw a small, wrapped package sitting on the kitchen table. The young woman rose with an awkward groan as she lumbered across the room, her surroundings barely registering as she moved to inspect the strange little box.

She picked it up and, finding her name written in a vaguely familiar hand, tore the box open.

"'Butleroma Part III'," Tohru read aloud, "'Our Love is Twice the Moon - Finale the Ist'? Wait..." Her expression turned to one of confusion and consternation as she said, "Gah! I forgot to grab this at Comiket! But... then... how...?"

With a glance at the couch-and the unassuming wicker basket beneath it-Tohru blushed a flaming crimson, muttering, "Meisuke..."

Steam seemed to waft from her head as she curled up again, covering her eyes with a small, "How embarrassing!"

For a moment she continued to sit there on the kitchen floor, the DVD in her lap. However, she soon looked up again and, tears streaming from her eyes as her mouth formed a determined line, she said, "I... need her here..." She considered these words before shaking her head. Standing up, she declared, "No... I _want_ her here!"

This said, she ran towards the apartment door.

...

"I want to understand, really I do, Meisuke," Magatsuchi said as he floated through the portal to the other world. "It's always been my responsibility to watch over you, and I've always _tried_ to be a good and supportive mentor, but I really don't understand why you-would you _please_ stop glancing at that human device when I'm trying to _talk_ to you!?"

The butler glanced up from her phone, her face stern but a twinkle of a smile in her eyes as she said, "Sorry, Mister Magatsuchi, but our time's up. I can't say I hate you-you're like some kind of family to me-but I can't really say I'm fine with your ideology either. It looks like we'll just have to part ways here for a bit. Oh, and since _this_ world has laws against littering but that one _doesn't_..." With a cheeky grin, she flicked her now-empty beer can through the portal before gripping onto its edge like a curtain.

"Show's over, folks!" She cried with an uncharacteristically frivolous flourish as she yanked the portal closed. Magatsuchi stared at her with rage and confoundment, his expression entirely nonplussed at this turn on Meisuke's part.

As it slammed shut with another resounding thud, Meisuke mused to herself, "Y'know, I think there were still a few drops in that can... Ah well, there's plenty more at home."

...

Tohru stood on the outdoor walkway just outside her apartment door, her eyes tearing up as she leaned against the railing. After taking a long, deep breath, she leaned back and cupped her hounds around her mouth.

"MEISUKE!" She shouted into the night. "I... I KNOW YOU WERE ONLY HERE FOR ME! I _KNOW_ THAT YOU WERE NEVER SUPPOSED TO STAY HERE! I KNOW THAT BEING HERE WILL MEAN YOU FIGHT WITH YOUR FAMILY!" She paused to take another deep breath before continuing, "IT'S MY FAULT THAT YOU WERE HERE AT ALL! IT'S MY FAULT YOU FOUGHT WITH MISTER MAGATSUCHI! IT'S ALL MY FAULT THAT YOU COULDN'T LEAVE!" She fell to her knees but continued to shout, saying, "I'M HERE! I WAS HOLDING YOU BACK! I JUST CAUSED TROUBLE FOR YOU! I KNOW YOU HAD TO GO WITH HIM!"

She paused for another deep breath, fully collapsing to the ground before pulling herself up with the railing to continue shouting, "I KNOW I'M NOT IMPORTANT! I KNOW THAT I DON'T HAVE ANY RIGHT TO CAUSE TROUBLE FOR EVERYONE! I KNOW IT'S SELFISH OF ME!" The young woman let go of the railing and rubbed at her eyes, muttering, "I know all that... I know all that... but still... but still...!"

Craning her neck back as she sobbed to the heavens, Tohru cried out, "BUT I STILL WANT YOU _HERE!_ I WANT YOU TO COME HOME, MEISUKE! IT'S NOT RIGHT FOR SOMEONE LIKE ME TO KEEP YOU HERE! I CAN ONLY HOLD YOU BACK! I CAN ONLY _MAKE TROUBLE_ FOR YOU!"

"BUT I WANT YOU HERE!" She shouted. "I WANT YOU TO COME HOME! WHERE YOU'RE SUPPOSSED TO BE! WITH ME! EVEN IF I'M USELESS... EVEN IF I'M TROUBLESOME... EVEN IF I DON'T DESERVE TO HAVE YOU HERE!"

"I STILL WANT YOU HERE! WHERE SOMEONE USELESS LIKE ME IS!"

Once again, she collapsed into the ground, burying her face into her arms as she sobbed.

"C'mon, Miss Tohru," a familiar voice said from above her, "please don't cry. I've already been responsible for enough of your tears tonight. I don't think I could carry any more."

Glancing up from the floor of the walkway outside her apartment, Tohru's face fell slack as though she couldn't comprehend what she saw.

"Meisuke...?" She finally managed to stutter out.

Cutting a dashing silhouette as she stood on the railing framed by the moon, Meisuke stood before the young woman with a calm, reassuring smile.

Before she could even properly register what it was she was doing, Tohru had launched herself at the butler with a crushing hug.

And bowling them both off the balcony, barreling towards the ground.

Meisuke chuckled to herself as they fell, marveling at the warmth pouring from Tohru as she clutched close to her.

_Huh... Miss Tohru really_ is_ surprisingly warm._ She mused. _I guess dragons_ are _still some kind of cold-blooded creature... but I want to be the sort of person that can return at least a little bit of that warmth._

As they plummeted, Meisuke nodded to herself, thinking, _from now on, I'll always be more of a butler than a dragon... but I guess it's been like that for a while now, huh._

And then they flew.

...

With a sudden jolt accompanying the change in direction, Tohru cracked her eyes open and realized that Meisuke's arms were around her and pulling them both through the air, a bobbing, weaving dance that might have been appropriate for a ballroom if it weren't so... intimate.

"Did you like the reference? 'Carry your tears' and everything?" The butler whispered in her ear.

Nodding shyly as she buried her _very_ red face in Meisuke's chest, the young woman replied, "I didn't even know you _saw_ the first Butleroma..."

With a small chuckle she replied, "Well, I can't really say it's my cup of tea, but... if you like it, Miss Tohru, I can definitely get used to it."

Her blush glimmering in the moon night, Tohru asked, "Hey, Meisuke... why do you always call me 'miss' Tohru...?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Meisuke replied with a smile and blush of her own. "It's because you're my master!"

...

The pair sat on the couch back in their apartment, Tohru resting her head on her butler and friend's shoulder while the sounds of sparkles and classical music poured from the speakers of their television. For a moment, each was content to sit there in silence, small grins on their faces as they touched each other as if reconfirming the other's existence. Finally, however, Tohru's face bunched up just slightly as she asked, "So… will he be coming back?"

Pushing her glasses back up her nose as she considered the question, Meisuke answered at length, "I don't think so. I didn't just shut the portal, y'know; I left a... _fun_ little enchantment at the 'gate point' that should keep him out for a while."

"Oh?" The young woman asked in interest. "What's that?"

With a sly smile, Meisuke replied, "Well, now he can only get in if he gets summoned here." Her smile widening by another few inches, she added, "By a human."

Furrowing her brow as she considered this, Tohru asked, "So does that mean we'll be safe? At least for a bit?"

"A bit more than a bit, Miss Tohru," she replied, "it should all be fine from now on. Smooth sailing, y'know?"

"That's nice..." Tohru muttered, curling closer to Meisuke as she added, "But I can't help but feel like we're forgetting something..."

"MISS TOHRUUUU!" The door swung upon with a _slam_ and the pair on the couch jumped slightly as a familiar little voice filled the house. This time, however, that familiarity was welcome.

"BIG SIS MEISUKE'S MISSING! I LOOKED FOR HER _EVERYWHERE!_" Riko shouted, bursting into the living room. "I FELT HER MAGICAL PRESENSE ALL OVER TOWN, AND SHOUTA'S DAD'S MANA IS _EVERYWHERE!_ SHE GOT CALLED BACK, WE GOTTA GO RESCUE HERE, C'MO-" The little dragoness's little voice quieted down, however, as she stared at the scene on the couch. "Oh." She muttered after a moment, her face reddening in surprise and embarrassment before she turned away, muttering, "Well... um..." Finally, she managed to whisper, "perverted adults..."

"Wait," Tohru said, blinking in surprise, "Mister Magatsuchi is Shouta's _dad!?_"

Raising an incredulous eyebrow, Meisuke said, "Well... I mean, he _did_ say he was _Magatsuchi_ Shouta."

"Oh. Right."

***End of Chapter 17***

A/N: Whoo! There we are; this is _roughly_ where the anime stopped, so you'll probably start to see some things you didn't know about if you only watched that. Anyway, I guess you could call this the end of the first... act? Part? Cycle? Well, whatever you want to call it, this is the end of the first 'major segment' of the overall narrative. Due to... certain extenuating circumstances, I might be able to produce these chapters more quickly for a good while now! Regardless, I hope you all enjoy my work and will have a lot of fun reading it in the future!

Thank you, all of you!

...now I'm gonna go grab a cookie. Maybe we have some oreo's around...


	18. Chapter 18: Riko and Warfare

Chapter 18: Riko and Warfare

"Okay..." Riko muttered, staring into the bathroom mirror with an air of confidence betrayed by the uncertainty lingering in the depths of her eyes. "You can _do_ this. You might not be her best friend..." The young dragoness shifted her gaze to the ground as she added, "...you might've barely talked to her since you got here..."

For a moment she remained silent, her face a mask of worry and indecision. However, with a shake of her head and a slap on her cheeks, she turned to the mirror once more with her confidence restored, saying, "You can _do_ this. You're _Saikawa Riko_ the _Great_. Heck, she should be _honored_ I'm giving her the opportunity!"

Thus, with a pump of her fist to the heavens, she yanked the bathroom door open and declared, "Now it's time to go ask Kamui Kanna to walk home with me!"

...and found herself face to face with the girl herself.

For a moment, neither said anything, Kanna staring emotionlessly at Riko with her unwavering gray eyes while the dragoness began to blush, growing redder by the second. After the initial shock wore off, Riko desperately tried to get a firm hold on her emotions, processing what was happening and becoming more and more flustered as she realized where she was and what she said and who she said it to and oh god this is all so-

"Okay."

Riko blinked, unsure if she had heard the impassive girl correctly and what it had meant. All she could stutter out was a garbled, "Buh... huh?"

Still staring at her classmate, Kanna said, "I'll walk home with you. I think you're cool."

It was all the young dragoness could do not to collapse.

...

A giddy smile creeping across her face despite her best efforts, Riko desperately pushed down the urge to skip as she walked down the street with her soft, quiet classmate. After a moment of relative silence, Riko thought back to Kanna's comments and with a touch of smugness asked, "So you think I'm cool, huh?"

With a nod that was likely quite enthusiastic by her standards, the silver-haired girl replied, "Oh, yeah, you're totally _wicked_."

The corners of Riko's mouth began an inexorable climb upwards as her face noticeably reddened.

"When we're in class you're always alone and have this 'don't mess with me' face. Oh, and when we split up into groups you go stand in the corner and stare at the ground like you're gonna kill it or something. You're totally cool!"

Though her mouth might have stopped its ascent-quite the opposite, in fact-Riko's face continued to redden, albeit for different reasons than it had started with. She stared at the ground for a moment, occasionally stealing a glance at Kanna (her eyes now sparkling with excitement and interest) as she reflected that Kanna probably had the best intentions and truly believed what she said was a good thing. In a way, that made it only sting more.

For a moment, they walked in another stretch of silence, the air charged with an awkwardness that Riko doubted her companion could feel. Eventually, she decided she would have to say something to break this mood.

"Hey, uh... Kamui..." Riko began.

"Kanna's okay," the girl interrupted her.

Pausing to force down a squeal that threatened to explode out of her at this, the young dragoness said, "Y-yeah, so, anyway, K-Kanna, I was th-thinking that maybe-"

She froze, the world around her seeming to slow down as she noticed it-a white sphere hurtling towards them, directly at Kanna. Her pupils dilated, her mind going blank and everything faded away as she came to realize something was threatening to _hurt Kanna_.

When she came to, she found herself in front of her quiet classmate with the ball crushed between her hands, smoke pouring out from between her lips as she seethed at the mere idea someone would _dare_ hurt her dear...

Riko came to her senses at this thought, realizing that she wasn't sure _what_ the girl was to her, only that Kanna was precious. And that she had to protect her.

"HEY!" She shouted, tossing the tattered remains of the ball aside like a dead rat as she turned to its source. "WHO'S THE IDIOT THAT THREW THAT!?" She glanced over her shoulder at Kanna, for whom the shock of what had just occurred was only now setting in. "YOU COULD'VE HURT MY...!"

Once more, she trailed off.

Before she could come to a conclusion, a group of teenagers came running up to them, their leader looking a bit sheepish as he approached. "Sorry, there!" He said, contrition etched into his face, "We were playing dodgeball over there, but we got a little too..." Glancing at the ripped pieces of rubber on the ground, he stopped cold before asking, "wait, did you _pop_ the ball!?"

If he had originally intended to placate Riko, he had failed miserably, a fact that was becoming increasingly apparent as her expression grew more and more grim. "You _bet_ I did!" She snapped, glaring at the boy with a quickly swelling antipathy. "You could've hurt _Kanna!_ If you're gonna do stupid things, you had better do it where you're not gonna make an idiot of yourself in front of everyone!"

As their ringleader opened his mouth to respond, a figure in the back shouted, "You've got a _mouth_ on you, kid!"

"Oh no..." the leader sighed.

Stumping up to the front of the pack, a hulking teenager with a short brown haircut and a crass sneer leered at the children, saying, "Get out of here, kid, the _big kids_ are playing right now and they don't want to deal with you. So, scoot on home, alright?"

"Ryo... we've talked about picking fights before..."

"So what?" The bulky teen shot back, "what's the kid gonna do, cry to her parents?"

Gritting her teeth with every word the rude stranger said, Riko muttered, "No..."

"Ohhh?" He replied, raising his head to stare down his nose at the young dragoness. "What's wrong? Gonna cryyy?"

"No." She repeated, glaring up at the boy and the posse of teens he was with. "I'm gonna challenge you."

The group fell silent, unnerved by the child in spite of her small stature. There was something about her, something they could sense but not put into words; there was a dangerous air to her.

The leader stepped between Riko and the hulking teen, waving his hands frantically as he said, "O-okay, sure, fine; let's just do that tomorrow, okay? So, let's go... _now_, guys," he finished, shooting his friends a meaningful glance.

"Feh," Ryo said, turning to join him, "whatever..."

Riko watched them walk away, her eyes boring holes into their backs before turning to Kanna, asking, "Are you alright?"

The silver-haired girl nodded, her eyes sparkling once again as she murmured, "Cool..."

...

"I'm baaack!" Tohru sang, walking into the apartment with her maid headband still on before promptly collapsing onto the apartment's couch.

Walking into the room with a cup of coffee on a saucer and a smile on her face, Meisuke said, "I can see that, yeah." As she placed the coffee on the table before her master-and surreptitiously removing the headband-she asked, "how was work today?"

Pulling herself into a sitting position and taking a long sip from the saucer, the young woman replied, "Boooring. Joui kept on whining about how everything I did was _wrong_, and how I should be more 'proper' as a maid, and then the manager ditched like halfway into a shift..." She trailed off with a sigh and took another sip of her coffee, her eyes lighting up as she drank.

"Hey! It's perfect!" She enthused, turning to the butler. "It's just the right temperature, and just the right amount of sugar... it's like you knew when I was coming home!" She blinked in surprise, turning away with a demure blush. "Could you have been watching me come home, I wonder...? Or could it be... love...?"

With a roll of her eyes, Meisuke replied, "no way; talk about creepy and stalkerish. Just because I _have_ magic doesn't mean I abuse it like that. Especially when you _have_ a schedule, and I _know_ you always run away from work as soon as your shift is up so no one tries to make you stay longer. I just figure in travel time and make sure a cup is ready when you get home."

Tohru pouted, turning away as she muttered, "you could've just said yeah... I know you wouldn't do that, and you didn't even mention the second part..."

"Oh! Miss Tohru! How lovely to see you again!"

The woman in question glanced over her shoulder in surprise to see Shouta entering the room, clad in full priestly vestments and carrying his own cup of coffee. With a quick bow, the ancient dragon said, "I have come for more of this 'coffee' drink! Meisuke informed me that you would be home soon, though she seemed rather uncertain of the fact. She's been scrolling through this 'traffic and local news' on the 'Television' for nigh on half an hour, I should think, or at least well prior to my arrival!" He pointed a golden staff topped with a small gold cross at the TV, adding, "Your tarrying appeared to be of great concern to her, so it brings joy to see you well!"

"'Schedule', huuuh~?" Tohru repeated, turning to Meisuke with a smug grin.

Standing up with a small cough, the butler excused herself from the room after offering a vague statement about getting more coffee-though not quickly enough for the small blush forming on her face to avoid Tohru's attention. The young woman giggled to herself, finding that occasionally awkward stoicism of her friend charming, if somewhat frustrating.

Shouta watched Meisuke leave the room, waiting until she left before turning to his host. "Miss Tohru!" He declared. "I apologize for the most dishonest terms under which I invited myself to your home. I did not, in fact, come for your coffee." He offered a deep bow before continuing, "In truth, I came with the sacred purpose of observing Meisuke in her transition to life in this world. Additionally, it is my belief that Makoto and that 'Takeshi' fellow he seems so fond of have come with similar intent, though I'm uncertain as to why the gloomy one has come as well."

"What?" Tohru asked, her brow furrowing in confusion. Before she could inquire any further, however, a knock came from the front of the apartment. She rose to answer it, opening the door to discover the pair Shouta had mentioned was, in fact, standing there, a glowing smile on Makoto's face that almost beat out the death glare Takeshi was directing at the sun. His face was scrunched in concentration as though staring hard enough would cause it to blink out of existence, the dark bags under his eyes emphasized in the clear afternoon sun he was so unaccustomed to.

_Well, I guess when you get old enough you have a knack for guessing these sorts of things..._ The young woman thought with a sigh, _That, or he used magic_. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she turned to the two, saying, "What's up, guys? Come on in, I think Meisuke's making coffee right now. D'you want some?"

Nodding his thanks, Takeshi stepped into the apartment, took off his shoes, and walked over to the living room. Makoto, on the other hand, wavered on her doorstep for a moment, and the young woman's eyebrow began to raise in surprise. Finally, Makoto rubbed the back of his neck, glancing out at the sidewalk as he asked, "Well, yeah, but... uh, is there a reason Riko's running over here at full speed with a human?"

Tohru blinked in surprise, pushing her way past the dragon to stare out into the street. Sure enough, she could make out Riko rushing towards the house, seething rage on her face as she dragged a child that looked about her age-physically, anyway-and had an unexpectedly detached expression for one being carried through the town at a speed typically reserved for motorized vehicles.

Something had evidently happened.

...

"...and then they ran away," Riko concluded, sitting at the kitchen table with Kanna, each holding a holding a pouch of applesauce.

Tohru was fuming, her face flushed and eyes wild as she declared, "There's _no way_ we can just let this slide! We're gonna go with you tomorrow and show those bullies! We'll help you show-"

"No."

Tohru blinked, cocking her head in confusion at Riko's denial. "Huh? But-"

"No." Riko repeated. "I want you guys to come-but you're not coming to help." She grit her teeth, a grim shadow falling across her face as she continued, "you're coming to witness me _crush_ them. You're coming to watch them _pay_. You're coming to-"

"Yeah, yeah," Meisuke cut in, placing a hand on the younger dragoness's shoulder. "Violence, blood, destruction, blah blah blah. Jeez, I forget how hot-blooded other dragons can get. For a kid, you're pretty much the best dragon I know and actually _like_, Riko. 'Course, I _do_ like you, so..." With a grin, she finished, "We're behind you all the way. I don't like the idea of people who try to mess with the happiness of others. Just don't kill them, alright?"

Nodding in agreement, Shouta added, "It will be good to partake in merriment and sport, to see something that truly moves the heart and warms the blood! I shall come to witness your triumph!"

Makoto pumped his fist with a small cheer, grabbing Takeshi's hand and raising it as well. After a bit of prodding from the dragon, the gloomy man finally offered an unenthusiastic "yaaay..."

A fire burning deep in her eyes, Tohru declared, "Allll RIGHT! Let's do it!"

...

The squad of teenagers stood on the dodgeball court with vague confusion, glancing around the playground as if searching for something. Finally, their leader stepped forward, asking, "Uh... hey, kid... where's the rest of your team?"

Clenching and relaxing her fists as her stare bore down the court, Riko replied, "They're all riiight here. All me. That's all it'll take."

"What about those guys?" He asked, pointing at the group of strange characters that had accompanied the little girl. Particularly concerning was the child dressed like the pope, clutching a golden staff. _Depending on how this goes, we'll need that guy,_ he reflected.

Riko narrowed her eyes and widened her stance, saying, "They're just here to watch you guys get thrashed."

The hulking Ryo suppressed a _snrk_, passing a ball to the ringleader as he said, "Go on, Akira; if the little twerp wants this, then you'd better give her what she wants. It's _ruuude_ to keep a 'lady' waiting, right?"

Accepting the ball with a soft sigh, the boy looked down at the ball and then at the young girl.

_If I just throw it lightly and tap her, she'll be out and this'll be over with, right?_ He thought. _It's not like anything's at stake here. I just have to throw it soft enough to touch her without hurting her._ So resolved, he raised the ball, drew his arm back, and then flicked the ball down the court...

At a considerable clip.

"Ah crap!" He shouted, his regret immediately evident. That shouldn't have happened! The ball was supposed to-

With a single hand Riko halted the ball, staring down the court with nary a change in expression. Creaking could be heard as she clutched the ball more and more tightly.

_Ooooh no..._ Akira thought to himself. _I should've just stayed home after all..._

...

Riko dusted off her hands, staring at the worn bodies strewn about the court with contempt.

Gazing upon her conquest, her harsh expression giving way to a smug grin. "And _that's_ what you get for threatening _my friend!_" She declared.

"Friend?" A soft voice asked.

Her grin becoming a shocked blush, the young dragoness turned to find Kanna staring at her, her eyes sparkling once more. "You think I'm your friend?" She asked.

Riko turned away, her eyes sheepishly trained on the sidewalk as she replied, "Yeah..."

For a moment, Kanna said nothing, standing completely still. It quickly passed, however, and she jumped towards her new friend, throwing her arms around the young dragoness as she quietly said, "Then Riko's my friend too."

"Awww," Tohru said, smiling brightly at the sweet beat between the pair. "That was nice. Not really all that satisfying, though; it was all that big kid's fault, and the whole game was _kinda_ sorta a curb stomp."

She frowned, stroking her chin for a moment before snapping her fingers as a flash of inspiration took her. "Meisuke!" She cried, turning to her friend. "Maybe we could have some kind of tourna-"

"Nope." The butler replied, cutting Tohru off mid-sentence before taking a sip from a can of beer. "It's troublesome, and I doubt that it's exactly 'good butler etiquette' to go around getting into dodgeball fights.

Makoto nodded in agreement, adding, "Yeah, and I doubt the court could take much more punishment."

With a pout, Tohru muttered, "Spoilsports..."

***End of Chapter 18***

A/N: As it turns out, I did, in fact, have Oreo's hanging around.


	19. Chapter 19: Meisuke and Neighbors

Chapter 19: Meisuke and Neighbors

"I'm off!" Tohru announced with a smile, glancing over her shoulder as she left the apartment.

Meisuke nodded without looking up from the newspaper-an item that had received some well-meaning teasing from her friend-as she said, "Alright. Have a nice day at work."

Shutting the apartment door with a grin, the young woman called out, "Alright!" before closing it. For a moment, Meisuke continued to read, not particularly interested in anything the newspaper had to say but not faced with anything pressing when the door flew open again.

"I almost forgot!" Tohru said, smacking her fist into her palm. "We had some neighbors move in recently, so make sure to greet them if they come to introduce themselves, alright?"

With a shrug and a nonchalant wave, Meisuke replied, "alright, I'll make sure to remember that. Now hurry to work or you'll be late!"

With a blink of realization and a sharp cry of "Uwah!" the young woman was on her way, likely to be scolded by her coworker Joui regardless of how fast she ran.

"Neighbors, huh?" Meisuke muttered to herself, the butler rising from her chair to search the fridge. "It'll probably be fine, I guess."

...

Pillows pressed to either side of her head, her brain feeling like it could be knocked out of her skull at any moment, the butler began to regret her words.

It had started casually enough. Some occasional bumps and thumps from the room above the one she shared with Tohru, perhaps worthy of a raised brow but no more than that. Then came the grinding and whirring, and though it was louder than she would expect, it was still more or less within acceptable limits. Then came the pounding and slamming, which had elicited consternation but had yet to truly earn a complaint. The sounds only continued to escalate after that, and they had reached a point where Meisuke feared she may pass out from the vibrations alone.

The cessation of the racket was as sudden as its commencement was gradual, and for a moment the butler kept the pillows clasped around her ears, waiting for it to return. When several minutes passed by without another noise, Meisuke lowered her hands with a wary glance upwards. "What was that...?" She wondered aloud.

She jumped at the sound of the doorbell ringing, rising as gracefully as she could in her addled state to answer it. Glancing into the camera as she opened the door, she saw a woman somewhere in her 30s with drowsy eyes and a kind smile.

"Hello there!" The woman greeted. "I just moved in recently and I wanted to say hello to my neighbors while I was adjusting, and to apologize for any trouble I might give you." She paused to offer a polite bow before extending a gift bag to the butler, saying, "Please, take this! It's some food I made just a bit ago. I hope we can get along moving forward!"

For a moment, Meisuke entertained the idea of reprimanding the woman for the noise. Soon, however, she decided against it, thinking it a bit childish to censure her when she had come in good faith. Plus, it wouldn't do to burn bridges before they had even been built.

With a small sigh to herself, Meisuke replied, "Oh no, you won't be any trouble at all! It's fine; thank you for the gift, ma'am, and I hope we can be friends!"

The woman offered a polite nod, another smile, and then was on her way-likely to continue "cooking", if that's what a process as loud as that could be called or carrying on her greetings.

For a moment, the butler wondered if she had done the right thing before ultimately pushing such thoughts aside. The first rule of being neighbors was being neighborly, and besides, it would be a pain trying to change anything.

...

It was back again. That noise. That damn noise.

This time, it wasn't subtle at all. It set in immediately, with crashes, bangs, and bashes. Meisuke had anticipated this would happen again, but she had expected some kind of warning like the protracted lead in she had heard the first time. This time, however, she had no such luck; before she had even realized what was going on, the room was filled with a ratcheting, screeching noise coming from her neighbor's room, filled with screams that sounded like tortured prisoners and a low rumbling that threatened to knock the paintings off the wall.

Continuing this particular sound's commitment to idiosyncrasy, it petered off gradually, lowering its volume for a few minutes before fading off into a rather unsatisfying murmur. Meisuke hesitated before removing her hands from her ears, fairly certain that whatever had happened was now over. For a brief moment all was quiet until the doorbell rang again.

Rising once more to check the camera, she found a younger individual with a blond sidecut and green bangs, an earring, and a rather striking collection of makeup they had only half-bothered to remove. Opening the door, she found them standing with an awkward smile on their face.

"Sorry about that," they said, "I just moved here because my old building kicked me out for being too loud. I was just getting into it when I thought I hadn't really said hey to the people here." With a slightly self-deprecating smile, he asked, "Sorry, but was I bothering you with any of that?"

Yet again the butler was seized with the desire to complain-one was enough, and two was definitely out!-but again held her tongue. After all, if she let one person get away with it, unless she really had a reason to get on the next person's case she was just discriminating, right? Nodding unconsciously at her logic, Meisuke replied, "no, it's alright. I didn't notice anything, and this complex is your home too, right? It's not like you're causing any trouble, so of course it's fine."

His smile losing its sheepishness, the man nodded and offered a word of thanks before leaving, presumably to return to his... whatever it was he was up to. Judging from the makeup, Meisuke would guess it was that 'metal' thing she saw on the internet, but as far as she knew her neighbor was just really, really into clowns. And screaming, apparently.

For a moment Meisuke wondered if she should have told him off before deciding she was right not to. This place _was_ home to more than just herself and Tohru, after all, and she didn't want to make him feel unwelcome.

It was just what neighbors did, after all.

...

At this point, Meisuke was wondering if she had invoked some kind of curse unintentionally. Once was happenstance. Twice was coincidence.

But the third time? At this point, she might as well accept this as her life now.

A buzzing filled the apartment, apparently coming from the wall to her next-door neighbor. This one was swift in coming as well, a staccato of hammering, sawing, whirring, and drilling pounding into her skull despite the pillows she had taped to her head-the butler was no longer willing to take chances, but it seemed life didn't care she was or was not willing to do.

The worst part was that unlike the first two times, this was an intermittent cacophony. A din would fill the air only to disappear for a few moments and then return with renewed vigor, only to vanish and reappear yet again. Had it not been for her vigilance, she would likely have already removed her pillows and been rendered half-dead.

Finally, the apartment fell silent. Meisuke sat waiting, allowing a full minute to slowly tick by until she let out a sigh of relief, glad that the ordeal was over. By the time the doorbell rang yet again the butler was already standing beside it-by now, she decided, it would be more concerning if it _hadn't_ rung. A quick glance determined that a balding older man stood outside with a pair of lab goggles on.

"'lo there," the main said as Meisuke opened the door. "I just moved in a few days ago and haven't been able to get a studio set up yet, so I've had to start working from home. Didn't mean to cause any troubles that might've, but my job is woodcarving and I got to work. Is it alright with you?"

For the third time Meisuke was tempted to reply with a firm 'yes', but again she shook her head, answering, "yeah, of course! You _do_ have to work after all, and you can't help it if you're having a couple problems. We all live here, so we all have to understand each other and be considerate to one another or this place won't be somewhere people want to live."

Again a nod and again a word of thanks before the man left to his craft. Meisuke considered how she had handled the issue for a moment before again deciding it was for the best. He had to do his job, so he couldn't help it if he made things irritating for people.

No matter how irritating.

...

It just wasn't fair. For a scant few moments, Meisuke had had peace and quiet. No ringing. No whirring. No screeching. Just nice, simple, inoffensive silence.

Nature evidently abhorred such a vacuum and instead decided to fill it with another round of noise, this time taking the form of shouting poorly muffled by the thin walls of the apartment. Rising once again, she checked the doorcam and was unsurprised to find her neighbors on her doorstep yelling at one another.

The butler sighed, rubbing her temples, briefly entertaining the idea of settling their dispute for them. But...

She had said it before and still believed it: this was everyone's home and she wasn't about to rock the boat. Regardless of whether or not she was in the right, this was something she was willing to let go. Maybe it was too troublesome to bother with, maybe it was for the good of everyone, but Meisuke had decided it was time to give up.

"What's going on out here?"

Jumping slightly in surprise as a fourth voice entered the fray-a familiar one at that-Meisuke cracked open the door just enough to confirm that Tohru was, in fact, standing outside, watching her neighbors have their spat and looking rather cross.

The neighbors shriveled under her gaze, sheepishly looking at the ground as each described their grievances-in a word, noise. The very thing Meisuke herself had been battling all day.

"I can't focus on my music at all!" The younger man with the side cut spoke up, "Every time I do, this crazy drilling starts up!"

Cowering turned to offense, the older man said, "'Crazy drilling'!? That's my job you're talking about! I need to make that noise for work... and it'd be easier without all that banging and clanking! How's that sort of racket even get made?"

Her cheeks puffing out in indignance, the neighbor from the floor above said, "All I'm doing is cooking! How could that cause trouble for anyone?"

Considering each of their words, Tohru said, "Well, I guess it kinda makes sense. It doesn't sound like anyone's trying to be a problem, and everyone's got good reasons for making noise, so we should be a little willing to put up with it."

A strange weight fell in her stomach as Meisuke began to nod in agreement. Tohru was right; it would be selfish to shout them all down for bothering her, and she just had to grow a thicker skin.

"But."

The butler blinked in surprise. Tohru had more to say?

Placing her hands on her hips as she began to fume, the young woman continued, "That doesn't mean we should just lie down and accept everything without complaint! Just like we should deal with the noise a little, we have to make sure we're being decent neighbors. Just because we have to do what we have to, we shouldn't take that as an excuse to ignore everyone else's lives and feelings! It's important to consider how other people feel-for doing stuff _and_ not doing stuff-and it sounds like you've only been expecting people to put up with you while not being willing to put up with everyone else!"

The weight in her stomach began to lighten and Meisuke released a sigh she hadn't realized she was holding in. Tohru was right-this might be everyone else's home, but it was her home as well. She had just as much a right to feel comfortable in it.

The other tenants seemed to agree, each turning to their fellow as they began to apologize to the other both for their complaints and the trouble they had caused. Nodding with an air of approval and just the slightest edge of smugness, Tohru pushed past them into her own apartment, allowing herself a small grin and chuckle as she shut the door behind her.

"Thanks, Miss Tohru. I needed to hear that."

The young woman jumped in surprise, turning to find Meisuke leaning against the kitchen table with a smile on her face. Letting her gaze wander over the apartment, the butler continued, "I never really thought about it, but this really _is_ my home, isn't it? For a while I had sort of thought that my home wasn't a place so much as 'by your side'-sure, yeah, kind of a cheesy line-but looking around here? It makes me... happy, actually having somewhere that _is_ home."

For a moment Tohru stared at the ground and blushed, slightly embarrassed by Meisuke's words. However, she soon lifted her gaze to meet that of her butler and replied, "Yeah, it is kind of nice, isn't it? I'm really happy to hear that that's what you thought, but... it's also good to think that you really feel like our apartment is home."

"Yeah," Meisuke said, sitting down into a chair as she reflected on the day's events, "me too."

...

"Hmmm..." Meisuke grumbled, rooting through the fridge with a frown. "I was hoping I could've avoided this for a bit longer..."

Walking into the apartment's tiny kitchen with her brow furrowed in concern, Tohru asked, "What's wrong? You look kinda like you ran across a stain you couldn't scrub out."

With a sigh of defeat, the butler answered, "Nothing _bad_, but... I'm out of balche, and if I want any more then I have to go all the way to the Grove of Acan."

"Whaaat!?"

The pair turned to see Riko poking her head into the room, her eyes narrowed as she said, "That's so much trouble for some booze, and it's not like that's the _only_ thing you have! It would take the whole _day_ to get there and back!"

Shrugging, Meisuke replied, "Sure, but I really felt like having some, and I'd like to keep at least a couple bottles around for when the mood hits anyway." Glancing out the window, she added, "I'll probably head out tomorrow morning and be back a little bit before dinner."

Riko rubbed her chin as she considered this, saying, "So if Meisuke's gonna be going on a trip like that..."

Both Tohru and Riko's eyes lit up.

"I'll make you a lunch box!" They said simultaneously before turning to each other, surprised at first before competition began to steel their gazes and tighten their jaws.

"Oh no..." Meisuke muttered, lowering her face into her hands.

***End of Chapter 19***


	20. Chapter 20: Meisuke and Riko and Bentou

Chapter 20: Meisuke and Riko and Bento

AN: Do you ever just have... MONTHS where you just want to do nothing but stare at the ceiling until 4 in the morning, wake up at 12, eat some *rating appropriate language* cereal and then *rating appropriate language* off back to bed until dinner? Like you can't muster the effort to do *rating appropriate language* all? Well, I've been 'went to the store for a pack of cigarettes' for a while, and while I can't say I have a GOOD reason to be gone, I just... couldn't. But I'm back now. I'm... home, I guess.

So, tadaima.

...

Patting her chest with a proud smirk, Riko declared, "Sorry, Miss Tohru, but you're 100 years too young to challenge me!"

The young woman spluttered for a moment before replying, "Y-you might be old, but you're still just a kid!"

"Who are you calling a kid, huh!?" She shouted back, "that's it! There's only way this can end now, and you know it!"

With a grim nod, Tohru replied, "Yep."

...

"...and that's why we need you to be judges for a food competition." Meisuke finished, pinching the bridge of her nose. "They've been staring daggers at each other across the room ever since, and if we don't resolve this soon it's gonna get bloody." With a sigh, she added, "...mostly from Tohru tripping over furniture."

Shouta and Makoto stood in the entryway of the Kobayashi home, Shouta clad in a Renaissance-era doublet with fine purple hose, silk shoes, and a jaunty hat finishing the set, his eyes sparkling with excitement. "A tournament, you say?" He enthused, bouncing from one foot to the other. "What merriment! I've not seen such worthy sport since the end of the great conquest of Castle Van'ya! You can be most assured in knowing that I will absolutely aid in this mighty endeavor!"

Nodding in far more reserved agreement, Makoto said, "Sure! I don't think Takeshi'll still be asleep for a while and this sounds pretty fun, so I don't mind!"

Finally breaking eye contact with Riko at this comment, Tohru turned to the tall dragon with her brow raised in curiosity, Tohru asked, "Wait, if he's still asleep but you're awake, then doesn't that mean you sleep at different times? How do you guys put up with something like that?"

With an amiable smile, Makoto replied, "No, not at all. I'm awake whenever he is."

"So, when do you sleep?" She asked curiously.

Makoto allowed himself a small chuckle before leaning down to Tohru's eye level, and for a brief moment his ordinary image of a calm, polite, and collected-even boring-young butler to disappear, replaced with a monster. His face was covered in a bleak shadow, his goatlike eyes glowing a dull red and his teeth jutting out of his maw, demonstrating just how sharp they truly were. Even his ordinarily cute horns seemed sinister, jutting from his head like a gnarled old tree by which the innocent were punished.

" R." He said, a jovial lilt to his voice.

...

Tohru sat quivering beside Riko, gripping the small dragon's arm as Shouta stood on the kitchen table, oblivious explaining the rules with arms raised to the heavens in a 'y' shape.

"A War of the Bentou this will be!" He declared. "The rounds will be three, pushing your culinary art to the most absolute of limits! The first, a side dish!" Crossing his arms with a firm gaze, the ancient dragon continued, "this must be something delightful but small, simple to consume and at no risk of ruining the kingdom."

Nodding in agreement, Makoto added, "We're really excited to see what you guys come up with! It's sure to be great fun, right, judge Meisuke?"

With a roll of her eyes at the elaborate display, the bespectacled butler asked, "When did this become a game show? Only old people watch those anymore ever since the internet started killing TV."

The pair of dragons gaped at Meisuke with identical scandalized looks. "How dare thee quoth such blasphemous heresy at our persons!?" Shouta reproached, physically recoiling at the comment. "Takeshi's Castle is the finest entertainment to be had! Merriment of such measure as to reinvigorate a full choir of bards at its mere mention! Game Shows are immortal!"

"Yeah, Meisuke," Makoto added, leaning across the table, "how could something like Jeopardy or Cash Cab lose relevance!? They're _classics!_"

Her only reply was to roll her eyes even harder.

...

Standing at the stove with her sleeves rolled up and hair pulled back, Meisuke psyched herself up for the challenge. _Poor Riko doesn't know that I've been practicing my cooking ever since I burned down the kitchen!_ She thought, placing her chin in the crook of her hand with a smug expression. _I don't work in a maid cafe for nothing!_

Meanwhile the short dragoness in question rifled through the drawers and cabinets of the kitchen, searching through the drawers until she began to grin, reaching into an open closet to gather her prize.

...

"Cheese crackers!?" Tohru cried, completely nonplussed by the snack Riko had prepared. "I went all out! Look at this!" The young woman gestured to her own offering, a delightful and clearly thoughtfully prepared multi-layered sandwich stuffed full of three kinds of meat, two types of lettuce, and four different cheeses. A drizzle of two different sauces in addition to mayonnaise completed the dish. "This took me ages! And so much effort! There's no way these could even be in the same category!"

With a sad sigh, Meisuke said, "Well, you're right... these aren't in the same category."

Nodding in agreement, Makoto added, "It's regrettable, but... Riko wins this round."

Her mouth flapping silently, Tohru dropped down to her knees as the small dragoness celebrated, dancing in place and pumping her fist in the air. "See that, Miss Tohru!?" She said, a smary grin on her face. "I told you from the start this is what would happen!"

Shouta stood on his chair, placing his hands on the table with a somber frown. "Unfortunately, Miss Tohru, you were disqualified from this round on the grounds of making too much."

Makoto offered a sheepish smile as he said, "I'm sorry to say it, but it's true. A side dish isn't supposed to be the main course, Miss Kobayashi, but that's what you maid. Anyone who ate that sandwich would be happy, sure, but... well, they wouldn't touch their real meal. Sadly, we cannot accept this submission on technical grounds."

Tohru finally fell fully to the floor, her shoulders hunched in defeat.

Coughing awkwardly, Shouta said, "We must now move on to the second round. Prepare a main course worthy of a journey, fine on the tongue but hardy for the travels through inclimate climes and unguarded groves."

...

Meisuke took a moment to breathe, once more pinching her nose in consternation. "Riko," she asked, "are those onigiri?"

With a shake of her head and a disgusted expression, her face scrunched up as though the very notion were offensive, Riko replied, "No way! These are sushi!" Puffing up her chest with pride, she added, "The shape was pretty hard, but I got the hang of it in the end."

"Tohru wins," all three judges said simultaneously, prompting Riko to immediately start whining and fussing, waving her arms erratically at the judges.

Meanwhile the young woman in question looked away in embarrassment, hiding her octopus sausages behind her. She was worried that she'd lose this round after exhausting her creative energies in the first round, but it appeared those fears were unfounded.

...

Awkwardly readjusting in his chair, coughing awkwardly to dispel the gloomy atmosphere left by the previous round, Shouta concluded, "This tourney comes to its climactic finale, the contestants primed for the final fight to the finish. Prepare yourselves, for this is the desert round! Sortie, my challengers!"

Nodding in agreement, the pair turned to head off in search of ingredients.

Only for Riko to be stopped short with a hand on her head.

"Meisukeee!" The young dragoness complained, attempting to bat the butler's hand away. "What are you doing!?" With a gasp, she added, "You're covering for Miss Tohru, aren't you? I knew it! She DID seduce you with her body!"

Shaking her head at the outlandish accusation, Meisuke replied, "No, it's just..." With a sigh, she said, "Riko, why are you so wound up about this?"

Her nose scrunching up in confusion, Riko replied, "What are you talking about? I'm trying to beat Miss Tohru, obviously!"

The butler shook her head again, saying, "We both know that's not true. There shouldn't have been any reason for you to pick a fight over this. I mean, Miss Tohru works in a restaurant. It's not exactly five stars, but still. Meanwhile, you," she poked the smaller dragoness in the nose, "haven't even taken a home ec class before."

"She's right, y'know," Makoto piped up, saying, "I know you've always been a bit... scrappy... but this seems like overkill, doesn't it?"

For a moment Riko said nothing, but after a few moments she finally mumbled out a quiet response.

Meisuke raised an eyebrow at this, saying, "Sorry, didn't hear that, Riko?"

A blush beginning to take hold of her face, Riko repeated only a bit louder, "Because she's done all this for me... I wanted to show everyone I was growing up... that I could do more now..." Staring resolutely at the ground, she finished, "I'm gonna be a kid for ages to her... I want to do something you could've been proud of me for..."

Quietly pulling a can of beer out from her pocket as she considered Riko's response, she began to wonder if maybe the little dragoness was growing up faster than she realized.

Riko blinked, snapping her fingers as she appeared to have some kind of epiphany. "That's it!" she declared, "I've thought of a new recipe!" This announced, she rushed out of the room... leaving concerned expressions on the faces of those she left behind.

...

"I'm baaack~!" Tohru trilled as she marched into the apartment with a small plastic bag swinging from her arm. "They were running a sale on chocolate bamboo shoots at the store, so I got a bunch!" Glancing around at the room, she asked, "is Riko still out?"

"Yup." Meisuke replied, "she made some Final Fantasy reference and then ran off."

Tohru's expression took on an intense edge of concern as she asked, "Will she be okay?"

With a small chuckle, Makoto replied, "Honestly she poses more threat to the people of this world than anyone does to her. Though I'm kind of surprised you're being such a mother hen to her."

Wavering for a moment, the young woman finally replied, "Well, I mean, she's a dragon, but.. she's still a kid, y'know?"

At this Shouta blinked in surprise, saying, "Even so, you still are but a babe compared to her. How say you as anything but a childe?"

Tohru stuck her tongue out at the ancient dragon. "I might seem young to you, but I'll have you know I'm just as much an adult as anyone here... and sometimes, Riko needs some adult supervision!" After a moment, she added, "Even if I'm not always the best adult for the job."

"I have arrived! Shower me with-" A resounding crash announced the return of the youngest dragoness far more effectively than her words ever could.

"Speaking of adult supervision..." Meisuke muttered.

...

Tohru poked at a bottle shaped like one would expect a sports drink to come in, but rather than the largely inert sugary beverage typically expected in such a container it bubbled and frothed like a boiling pot, a dark liquid swishing within. "So..." she began, "what is it?"

A proud smirk on her face, Riko leaned in conspiratorially with a small shake of the bottle as she said, "It's just the best thing ever! Pretty hard to get right, but I'm pretty sure I did it-"

Before she could finish her sentence, however, she found the bottle vanished from her hand, punted through the nearest window by Meisuke as the butler pushed Tohru and Riko to the ground and joining them on the floor. Shouta and Makoto followed suit, hiding beneath the table as threw their hands over their heads. For a moment all was silence until it was broken by an earsplitting crack of an explosion, a bright light the size of a baseball field was visible over the city.

No one said anything for a moment until Tohru finally screeched, "WHAT WAS THAT!?"

The dragons all coughed awkwardly, pointedly looking away until Riko finally explained, "Um, well... I kinda thought that I could make something Meisuke would like with magic... but Alchemy's something only Wizards do, and I thought I could replace a couple ingredients I didn't have, and..." with a sheepish grin and shrug, she concluded, "it didn't work?"

"So, yeah, you're disqualified," Meisuke said, lightly chopping the smaller dragon's head and eliciting a small squeal of protest.

...

"2 for 1, today only, huh?" Meisuke muttered.

Kneeling in the liquor aisle of her local convenience store, the butler considered the sale they were running on beer. While it was true that she could just conjure some, alcohol summoned by magic always had a weird metallic aftertaste-even cheap booze was better, but summoned beer was better than nothing.

Her attention thus occupied by her mental calculations, she rose to her feet and carelessly leaned back, bumping into another customer who was passing by as she did. Thus shook from her reverie, Meisuke said, "Oops, sorry for- wait, Joui?"

The uptight woman in question flinched at her name, stepping back and stammering. Instead of her maid clothing or the fastidious, meticulously selected clothing the butler would've expected of her, Joui was dressed in a loose-fitting, well-worn black t-shirt promoting some orchestra or another, a pair of old sweatpants, and a ragged pair of flip-flops. She began to shift from foot to foot, allowing her dark hair to drape across her face as a blush began to color her expression.

"I-I don't know who you're talking about!" The young woman replied with an awkwardly high-pitched falsetto, turning away to stare at one of the shelves and giving Meisuke a peek at her reddening cheeks.

Allowing her gaze to drift to travel downwards, Meisuke took note of the contents of the part-time maid's basket. She blinked in surprise, noting that her basket was filled with instant meals and junk foods. "Huh," the butler said, "I didn't figure you for the instant meals time. I thought you'd be more of the home ec class president ty-"

She stopped short, however, noticing Joui begin to pout and tear up just a bit.

"It's not my fault..." the young woman muttered, "I'm always exhausted when I get back from work and don't really have time to cook..." She rubbed her neck, training her gaze on the ground as she added, "Plus, I'm kinda... clumsy..."

_Huh,_ Meisuke thought, _She's more like Tohru than I realized. Huh,_ she grimaced, _when put like that, it makes me feel kinda responsible._ With a sigh she scratched her cheek, saying, "Well, maybe I could help you with that..."

***End of Chapter 20***


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